Renewable Energy Strategies for Planning Applications in London
If your planning permission asks for an energy strategy, an energy statement or a sustainable technology strategy, we can write it. We design and install solar every week, so the layout we put in front of the council is one we know can be built.
An Energy Strategy Is Only as Good as Its Solar Design.
Many strategies are written by consultants whose work is energy modelling, and that is skilled work. Solar layout is a different skill. A panel count taken from a roof area does not always survive a site visit, and that gap shows up later, in the cost, in the generation figures and in what the council is told.
We install the systems we design. That is why we write the strategy around a roof that works.
Space that exists
Panels laid out around rooflights, heat pumps, plant and access zones.
Mounting that suits the roof
Ballast, fixed or in-roof, chosen for the roof build-up and its pitch.
Generation figures you can defend
Orientation, shading and tilt, in numbers your planning team can put forward.
Maintenance access
Panels that can be reached safely, so they stay on the roof.
What We Look at When We Read a Roof Plan.
On a recent Finchley development the plans showed a flat roof. On site it was very slightly pitched, which made a standard ballasted system a poor choice. We changed the fixing method and the roof stayed watertight. That kind of detail belongs in the strategy before the roof is built, while there is still time to change things.
We work with your architect and M&E team to get the solar layout, generation estimates and mounting details right at design stage.
What the Strategy Covers
| Be lean | Reducing energy demand, with SAP or SBEM baseline modelling. |
|---|---|
| Be clean | Efficient heating and cooling, and heat networks where they exist. |
| Be green | On-site solar PV and battery storage, sized to the real roof. |
| Be seen | Monitoring energy performance after completion. |
How It Works.
Send Us the Details
The roof plans and the planning condition or decision notice.
Roof Review
We tell you what is realistic for the roof, and what the submission needs.
Strategy and Design
We write the strategy with your architect and M&E team, with solar layout and generation estimates.
Submission and Install
Support through the submission, then installation once the scheme is approved.
Energy Strategy FAQs.
Does the strategy have to be written by an accredited assessor?
Not by any general national rule. The GLA's guidance sets out the methods and evidence a council expects, not who writes the document. Some councils add their own requirements, and some certificates, such as an EPC, must come from an accredited assessor. We check your council's validation list first, and where an accredited assessor is needed we arrange that.
Which developments need an energy strategy?
In London, all major developments: 10 or more homes, or 1,000 sq m or more. Some boroughs ask for one on smaller schemes, and councils outside London have their own local policies.
Our planning permission calls it something different. Is it the same thing?
Usually. Energy strategy, energy statement, energy assessment, sustainability statement and sustainable technology strategy are all names for the same kind of document. Send us the condition and we will tell you what it asks for.
Can you also install the system?
Yes. We install solar PV and batteries, and EV charging for apartment blocks and commercial sites, so the design carries through to the build.
Do you guarantee the council will approve it?
No one can. We can make sure the solar side is accurate, buildable and clearly evidenced.
Have a Planning Condition to Deal With?
Send us the roof plans and the planning condition. We will tell you what is realistic for the roof and what your team needs for the submission.