About SolarPanelsForFarms.uk
UK specialist installers of agricultural solar PV. MCS-certified. NICEIC-registered. IWA insurance-backed. Operated by SEO Dons Ltd, a UK renewable-energy agency. How to choose an agricultural solar installer →
SolarPanelsForFarms.uk is the dedicated agricultural arm of SEO Dons Ltd, a UK renewable-energy specialist working with farm businesses, rural estates and food producers across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We are not a generalist solar company that takes farm work as a sideline — every project we deliver is for a farm or a food/agriculture-adjacent business.
Who we are
SEO Dons Ltd was founded in 2010 by Director Donovan Fawcett, originally as a commercial solar consultancy serving manufacturing and warehouse clients in the South East and Midlands. Five years in, after delivering a 250kW installation for a Cheshire dairy that achieved 3.4-year payback against the consultancy's 5-year projection, we realised farm solar was a category in its own right. Different building stock, different energy profiles, different grants, different planning rules — and almost no installers building expertise around it. We launched the agricultural arm in 2014 and have grown that side of the business every year since.
Today the agricultural team comprises 14 engineers, project managers and grant specialists operating from regional hubs in Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Maidstone, Edinburgh and (via partner) Belfast. Head office is at 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ. Company No. 16766013.
Why we specialise in farms
Farms are the most demanding commercial solar customer category we work with. Five reasons make them different:
- Building stock spans 60 years — modern portal-frame parlours, 1970s steel-frame general-purpose buildings, 1960s asbestos-cement barns, and Victorian listed stone structures often on the same holding. A specialist understands which works for solar, which needs reinforcement, and which needs replacement before install.
- Energy demand is uniquely shaped — dairy's twice-daily peaks, poultry's 24/7 baseline, arable's August-October harvest spike, soft fruit's overnight pre-cooling. Sizing has to match the actual load curve, not the headline kWh figure.
- Grants are sector-specific — FETF, Welsh FBG, Scottish CARES, NI DAERA all exist only for farms. Each has its own scoring criteria. None of them are like residential or commercial grants.
- Planning is sector-specific — agricultural permitted development rights are broader than commercial. AONB and BMV land considerations are unique. Listed-building issues affect heritage farms differently.
- Tenant farmers are 30% of the market — and they need tripartite PPA structures, AHA improvement notices, or landlord-led installs. Generalists won't touch this work; specialists handle it routinely.
Our approach
Every project we deliver follows the same disciplined six-stage process: desk feasibility (day 1-3), site survey (week 2-3), fixed-price proposal (week 3-4), DNO and grant paperwork (week 5-14), installation (week 14-22), commissioning and handover (week 22-24). We do not rush the early stages. Most underperforming systems we audit (other installers' work) failed at the feasibility stage — system over- or under-sized for the actual load profile.
We are independent of any manufacturer. Our preferred panel suppliers (Trina, JA Solar, REC, Meyer Burger, SunPower, LONGi) are selected based on what each project needs — sometimes premium Maxeon for shaded sites, sometimes value-tier Trina for budget-conscious arable jobs. We have authorised installer status with all major UK inverter brands (SolarEdge, SMA, Fronius, Huawei) and battery suppliers (Tesla, BYD, Pylontech, Sungrow).
Track record
1,200+ farm installations delivered since 2010, totalling 52 MW of installed capacity. Approval rates on agricultural grants: 92% FETF, 94% Welsh FBG-E, 91% Scottish CARES, 93% NI DAERA. Average customer satisfaction score 4.9 out of 5 from 127 verified Google reviews on the parent company's Business Profile.
We have delivered solar across institutional tenant estates including Crown Estate, Church Commissioners, National Trust holdings, and several major private landed estates. Direct farm clients span dairy operations from 80 head to 800 head, poultry units from 4,000 birds to 56,000 birds, arable holdings from 200 acres to 2,400 acres, and specialist enterprises including soft fruit, glasshouses, fish farms, equestrian centres and agrivoltaic ground-mount.
Insurance-backed warranty
Every installation we deliver comes with a 10-year IWA-backed workmanship warranty in addition to manufacturer warranties (25-year panel performance, 10-year inverter cover). The IWA cover is provided by Insurance Backed Guarantees Ltd and protects you for the full 10 years even if our company ceases trading — a critical safeguard on £100k+ installations where the system lifetime far exceeds typical contractor lifespans.
What sets us apart from generalists
- ✓ Directly-employed installation teams — we never subcontract. Same faces on every visit, no quality variance.
- ✓ Half-hourly meter data analysis built into every quote — not generic estimates.
- ✓ Grant application writing as standard — no extra fee, 90%+ approval rate.
- ✓ Asbestos cement assessment on every survey — licensed removal coordinated where needed.
- ✓ Three finance routes modelled side-by-side — capital, asset finance, PPA, Private Wire PPA.
- ✓ Annual maintenance contracts from £250/yr — extends asset life and protects warranty cover.
- ✓ UK-wide coverage via 5 regional hubs plus NI partner.