About this site

What this site is

solarpanelsfordatacenters.co.uk is published by SEO Dons Ltd, a UK company. We research and write about on-site solar for data centres — the economics of a flat, continuous load, the G99 and protection-coordination questions, the roof and structural constraints, the tax treatment and the customer-evidence angle — and we match operators who want quotes with installers that work in this sector. We do not install anything, we do not hold installer accreditations, and we do not carry a delivery team. Any page on this site that once read as if we did was wrong, and has been corrected.

The site also maintains reference material that a lot of visitors use without ever wanting a quote — the UK data centre locations list is the obvious example. That is deliberate: a reference that is accurate is useful whether or not it leads anywhere, and it keeps us honest about what the traffic actually wants.

How the content is researched

Figures on this site are taken from primary sources and dated: Ofgem for the Smart Export Guarantee, the Energy Networks Association for the G98 and G99 connection thresholds, HMRC and the Capital Allowances Act for the tax position (solar is special-rate plant — the Annual Investment Allowance applies, full expensing does not), the General Permitted Development Order for planning, and the operators' and manufacturers' own published documents for everything technical. Where a number cannot be sourced it is not used. Costs are given as indicative ranges and labelled as such.

Worked examples on the site are modelled scenarios, not client projects, and say so on the page. We do not publish testimonials, star ratings, install counts or capacity figures of our own, because we have none to publish.

How quotes are matched, and how the site is funded

When you send an enquiry through the quote form, we pass it to installers who work on data centre and critical-power projects and who can evidence that with references. The installers quote; you choose. The site is funded by that matching and by SEO Dons Ltd's wider business; it takes no manufacturer rebates and holds no distribution agreements, so nothing on it is written to move a particular panel or inverter.

What to demand of any installer you shortlist

The old version of this page listed clearances and qualifications as if they were ours. They are still the right list — as questions for the firms you are comparing:

• Security clearance. Colocation and government-contracted facilities expect on-site personnel to hold current BPSS clearance before mobilisation. Ask for the clearance register, not a promise to apply for it under time pressure.
• Electrical registration and G99. The contractor certifying the AC works should be on the NICEIC or NAPIT register, and should be able to walk you through the G99 application, protection-relay coordination with the network operator, and how the switchover is phased so an operational site never sees a momentary loss. Almost every data-centre array is well above the 3.68 kW per phase G98 limit.
• Structural sign-off. Roof load under live conditions, wind uplift and the landlord's structural consent on leased buildings, in writing before the panels are ordered.
• Warranty backing. A workmanship warranty is only as good as the company behind it; ask for the name of the insurer standing behind it if the installer stops trading, and for the manufacturer product and performance warranty terms in full.
• References in this sector. Two named, contactable operators with a comparable load and a comparable site. A generic commercial-rooftop reference is not the same thing.
• A model you can audit. Yield assumption stated in kWh per kWp for your location, self-consumption modelled from your half-hourly data, the AIA treatment shown as a separate line, and a 25-year cash flow you can re-run yourself.

The installer guide expands each of these, and the reviews page covers how to read an installer's public record on registers it cannot edit.

Corrections

If a figure on this site is wrong or out of date, tell us through the contact page with the source you are relying on. Corrections are made on the page and dated.