Funding for solar mounting systems and the arrays on them, whether ground mounted racking in a field corner or a roof system on a farm building.
Whole-of-market — 60+ lenders searched, including
Yes, though solar is funded against an income or a saving rather than against the steelwork. Panels, inverters and roof mounting systems are identifiable equipment and can go on hire purchase or a lease. Ground mount racking driven into the land sits closer to being part of the ground, which is why larger schemes are usually structured differently, with a developer funding the array and the farm receiving rent instead. For a farm putting solar on its own buildings to cut a substantial electricity bill, ordinary asset finance is generally the right route.
Used kit: Rarely; used panels and inverters have little market and are seldom funded
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Business asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what this shows — with the equivalent APR underneath, because the two are not the same number. A quick guide only; your actual rate depends on the asset, term, deposit and lender.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 6.0% flat rate (equivalent to 11.5% APR representative), you would repay around £646 a month; total amount repayable approximately £31,000, of which £6,000 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and may receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval. CW Asset Finance is an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630701).
Solar does not behave like a tractor and funders do not pretend otherwise. The asset has a long life and low maintenance, but recovering panels off a roof is expensive and rarely worth it, so the lending sits against the business and the electricity it displaces. What an underwriter wants is evidence of consumption: bills showing the load, and a realistic estimate of how much of the generation you will actually use on site rather than export. Self-consumption is what makes these work. Where a farm leases land to a developer instead, no finance is needed at all and the conversation is about the lease. Roof condition and structural capacity are checked before installation, since a roof needing replacement first changes the whole project.
Examples of the machines we are asked to fund. This is not an exhaustive list — if what you are buying is not here, it does not mean we cannot fund it. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.
| Machine | What it is |
|---|---|
| K2 Systems roof mounting | Rails and clamps for barn roof arrays |
| Renusol mounting systems | Roof and flat mounting frameworks |
| Schletter ground mount systems | Piled and ballasted ground frames |
| Van der Valk Solar Systems | Ground mount and agri-solar structures |
| Nextracker NX Horizon | Single-axis tracker for field arrays |
| Soltec SF7 | Two-in-portrait single-axis tracker |
| SMA Sunny Tripower | String inverters for commercial arrays |
| Huawei SUN2000 | String inverter with module optimisers |
| Fronius Symo | Three-phase inverter for farm rooftops |
| BYD Battery-Box Premium | Battery storage for on-site generation |
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Farms with a large, continuous electricity demand, typically dairies with cooling and vacuum plant, grain drying and cold storage operations, and poultry units running ventilation. The decision is normally driven by the size of the power bill rather than by the roof, and increasingly by wanting some insulation from energy price movements rather than by any subsidy.
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We publish the deals we arrange, with no client named and no rate quoted. See what we have funded in agriculture.
Bought on hire purchase, business plant and machinery normally qualifies for capital allowances on the full cost even though you pay for it monthly, which is a large part of why hire purchase is the common structure. On a finance lease you generally set the rentals against profit instead. The rules change between budgets and your position depends on how you trade, so treat this as the direction of travel and get your accountant to confirm the detail before you commit.
Not quite. The equipment can go on hire purchase or a lease, but the decision rests on the electricity being displaced rather than on the resale value of panels, because removing an array from a roof costs more than the panels are worth. Bring your bills; they matter more than the specification.
A roof system is bolted to a building and funds as equipment. Ground mount racking driven into the land looks more like part of the ground, which is one reason larger field schemes are developer funded with the farm taking rent instead of owning the array.
Because using your own generation displaces electricity you would otherwise buy at retail prices, whereas exporting it earns considerably less. An underwriter assessing the saving will want a realistic split, and a dairy or a cold store with daytime demand makes a far better case than a farm using very little.
Always. An array has a long working life and nobody wants to strip it off to replace sheets underneath. Structural capacity and the condition of the roof covering should be assessed before anything is ordered, and a funder may ask whether that has been done.
Yes, and it often improves the case rather than complicating it, because storage raises the proportion of generation used on site. It is identifiable equipment with a manufacturer behind it, so funders treat it in the same way as the rest of the installation.
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See everything we fund in rural and agricultural finance →
Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
Prefer to talk? Call 07581 364281 · serving Leeds, York, Harrogate, Wakefield, Selby, Tadcaster & across North & West Yorkshire.
Machinery, livestock and land — each with its own page, because each is assessed differently.