UK farm solar in 2026 is the most heavily-supported it has ever been. Capital grants now cover up to 40% of installation cost across all four nations, and the 100% Annual Investment Allowance writes the residual down against profits in year one. For a profitable farm business, the effective post-grant, post-tax cost of a £75,000 solar system in 2026 can come in below £30,000 — and pay itself back inside two years.
Below is the complete map of every UK funding route in 2026, organised by region. We write the application paperwork as part of every quote and our 2024–2025 approval rate sits above 90%.
Government grants for solar farms — the four-nation summary
There is no single "solar farm grant" in the UK — government support for agricultural solar is delivered through national schemes that differ by nation. In England, the headline route is the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) at up to 40% of capital, alongside SFI and Countryside Stewardship. In Wales it is the Farm Business Grant; in Scotland, CARES interest-free loans; in Northern Ireland, the DAERA Farm Business Improvement Scheme. Every one of these stacks with the 100% Annual Investment Allowance. Note: large field-scale "solar farms" (ground-mount energy parks) are commercial generation projects funded through PPAs and the Contracts for Difference auction rather than farm grants — the schemes below fund on-farm solar that powers your own holding.
| Nation | Scheme | Support level | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | FETF (+ SFI, CS Capital) | Up to 40% capital grant | £100,000 |
| Wales | Farm Business Grant — Efficiency | 40% capital grant | £12k–£100k |
| Scotland | CARES loan (+ SRDP) | Interest-free loan | £150,000 |
| N. Ireland | DAERA Farm Business Improvement | 40% capital grant | £100,000 |
England — Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF)
FETF is the single biggest source of capital for English farm solar in 2026. It is a competitive capital grant scheme administered by Defra and the Rural Payments Agency, covering up to 40% of qualifying capital cost with a project ceiling of £100,000 grant value.
The 2026 FETF round is expected to open in February–March with a 4–6 week application window. Applications are assessed competitively using a points-based scoring system — projects that score on energy efficiency, GHG reduction, animal welfare and farm productivity all rank higher.
Eligibility extends to all registered English farm businesses including tenanted farms (with written landlord consent), partnerships, sole traders and limited companies. We have prepared FETF applications for over 200 English farms with a 92% approval rate. The key is matching project specification against the scoring criteria — a generic application typically scores 60–70/100, whereas a well-prepared specialist application scores 85–95.
England — Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI)
SFI is not a capital grant for solar itself but a stackable ongoing payment for farms taking agrivoltaic approaches — solar PV combined with biodiversity-positive ground cover, pollinator-friendly planting, or compatible sheep grazing. SFI payments of £40–£80 per hectare per year compound over the system's 25-year life and materially improve overall project economics on ground-mount installations.
The SFI 2025 update introduced specific renewable energy alignment, recognising co-located solar generation as compatible with biodiversity outcomes. Practical examples: pollinator-friendly wildflower seed mixes under ground-mount panels (the Pollinator and Farmland Wildlife Package); rotational sheep grazing on agrivoltaic sites (the Improved Grassland Soils package); wet grassland under elevated panels on Levels-style farms (the Wetland Habitats package).
England — Countryside Stewardship Capital Grants
For farms already enrolled in CS Mid-Tier or Higher-Tier agreements, the Capital Grants strand provides up to £50,000 supplementary capital for projects with demonstrable biodiversity co-benefits. Solar installations that include wildlife corridors, pollinator strips, or wetland habitat creation under or around the array typically qualify.
Wales — Farm Business Grant (Efficiency)
Welsh Government's FBG-E covers 40% of eligible capital cost with grants between £12,000 and £100,000. The application process is notably farmer-friendly — Farming Connect provides free pre-application advisor support, and rejection rates are materially lower than the English FETF.
Eligibility extends to all active Welsh farm businesses with a Customer Reference Number (CRN) and current farm business ID. Application windows run quarterly with assessment typically taking 6–10 weeks. We've prepared Welsh FBG-E applications for dairy, beef, sheep and horticultural farms across Powys, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Gwynedd.
Wales — Sustainable Production Grant
For larger Welsh projects exceeding the FBG-E £100,000 grant ceiling, the Sustainable Production Grant provides up to £400,000 grant at 40% intervention rate. It targets larger commercial farms with productivity or market access angles, including farms supplying the major supermarkets where Scope 3 emissions reporting is now mandatory.
Scotland — CARES Loans
Local Energy Scotland's Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) provides interest-free or low-interest loans up to £150,000 for rural Scottish renewables including farm PV. Unlike grants, CARES loans must be repaid — but the zero-interest profile makes them broadly equivalent to a 25% capital grant in cash-flow terms.
CARES is open continuously with rolling assessment and is particularly suited to Scottish farms preferring debt-style financing over grant applications. We handle the application alongside the parallel Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant submission to maximise total support.
Scotland — Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant
The Scottish Government's SACG provides 40% capital up to £20,000 grant per farm. Smaller ceiling than other routes but stackable with the CARES loan for the residual — so a £80,000 Scottish farm solar project might receive £20,000 SACG plus £60,000 CARES loan, effectively zero out-of-pocket at point of install.
Scotland — SRDP for Islands and Remote Areas
Farms in genuinely remote rural Scotland or the islands (Orkney, Shetland, Western Isles) qualify for enhanced support under the Scottish Rural Development Programme at 50% intervention rate up to £500,000. This reflects the higher delivered cost of solar materials and labour in remote locations.
Northern Ireland — Farm Energy Efficiency Scheme (DAERA)
DAERA's Farm Energy Efficiency Scheme provides up to 40% of capital cost for NI farm energy projects including solar PV. The 2025 budget increased 30% versus 2024 reflecting strong uptake and proven payback. Application windows open in spring with assessment over 8–10 weeks.
Eligibility covers all active Northern Ireland farms with farm business ID. We coordinate applications through our Belfast partner team for NI installations.
UK-wide — 100% Annual Investment Allowance (AIA)
The single most valuable financial benefit for profitable farm businesses isn't a grant — it's the 100% Annual Investment Allowance. AIA allows you to write down 100% of qualifying capital expenditure against taxable profits in the year of purchase, up to a £1,000,000 cap per business per year.
Solar PV is unambiguously qualifying plant and machinery for AIA purposes. For a limited company paying 25% corporation tax, that means a £75,000 solar install delivers a £18,750 tax saving in year one — on top of any grant received. For a partnership or sole trader, the saving depends on the principal's marginal income tax rate (typically 20–45%), and can be even higher.
AIA stacks fully with FETF, FBG, SACG, and DAERA. Sequence: receive grant (say, 40% of capital), then claim 100% AIA on the residual 60% in year one.
UK-wide — Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)
Every farm solar system over 50 kWp that is MCS-certified is eligible to register with a SEG-licensed electricity supplier for ongoing payments on exported electricity. Current SEG tariffs range from 4p/kWh (basic suppliers) to 15p/kWh (Octopus Outgoing, EDF Export Variable).
For farms with strong daytime self-consumption (dairy, poultry, processing), export is typically 30% of generation or less and SEG income is modest — £500–£2,000 per year on a 100kW system. For arable farms with seasonal load profiles (peak demand only during August–October grain drying), export can hit 50–60% of generation and SEG income materially improves overall return.
UK-wide — Capital Allowances on residual investment
Capital expenditure above the £1m AIA cap qualifies for ongoing Capital Allowances at 18% per year on a reducing-balance basis (main pool). This applies to integrated battery storage systems, BESS containers, and any associated infrastructure exceeding the AIA cap. Few farm installations exceed £1m so this rarely matters in practice, but for large ground-mount or multi-MW estate-scale projects it does.
How the grants stack — worked example
Consider an English dairy farm installing a £75,000 100 kWp rooftop system in 2026:
- Gross capital cost: £75,000
- FETF grant at 40% capital: −£30,000
- Net cost before tax: £45,000
- 100% AIA against £45,000 at 25% corporation tax: −£11,250
- Effective net cost after grant and tax: £33,750
- Year-1 generation: 88,000 kWh
- Year-1 saving (70% self-consumed at 30p/kWh + 30% SEG export at 8p/kWh): £20,592
- Simple payback: 1.64 years
- 25-year lifetime savings: £480,000+
How to apply — let us handle the paperwork
Every FETF, FBG, SACG, SPG, CARES or DAERA application we submit on behalf of a client includes:
- Full system specification with MCS-certified equipment list
- Half-hourly meter data analysis demonstrating energy use baseline
- Projected generation, self-consumption and GHG savings calculations
- Cost breakdown with supplier quotations
- Project timeline and delivery plan
- Scoring matrix alignment against the specific grant criteria
- Supporting evidence on farm productivity, animal welfare or biodiversity co-benefits
Our 2024–2025 approval rate across all four nations is 91%. The most common reason for the 9% that did not approve: timeline mismatch (project not deliverable within grant window). We screen this at the eligibility-check stage to avoid wasted applications.
Common questions about farm solar grants
Can I apply for FETF and AIA on the same project?
Yes — they stack. FETF covers up to 40% of capital cost; AIA writes down 100% of the residual 60% against year-one taxable profits up to the £1m cap. Most farm installs land well within the AIA cap.
Do tenant farmers qualify for FETF?
Yes, with written landlord consent. We provide a standard tenant solar agreement template that satisfies FETF tenancy requirements and protects both parties.
Can I apply if I have already started the installation?
No. FETF and most other grants require application BEFORE work begins on site. Survey and quotation work is fine; ordering equipment or starting installation before grant approval invalidates the application.
What if FETF is over-subscribed in 2026?
Then projects scored below the funding line are rejected and the application has to be resubmitted in the next round. We typically suggest preparing applications for the next available window AND structuring projects with the asset finance fallback so the install can proceed regardless of grant outcome.
Is solar still eligible for FETF in 2026 given the post-Brexit funding changes?
Yes. The 2026 FETF round is confirmed open with solar PV explicitly listed as a qualifying technology under the Energy Efficiency and Productivity strand. The post-Brexit Defra agricultural funding plan has consolidated previous BPS funding into the SFI, FETF and Capital Grants framework — solar PV remains a priority technology.
Can I get a grant for battery storage?
Increasingly yes. FETF 2025 expanded eligible items to include battery storage paired with renewable generation. Welsh FBG-E and Scottish SACG also support battery storage in 2026. NI DAERA assesses case-by-case.