The number of UK schools installing rooftop solar with funding from Great British Energy (GBE) has reached 100.
The government energy company focuses on schools and colleges in deprived areas, particularly in the North East, West Midlands and the North West. Every region of England now has at least ten schools benefiting from the scheme.
This is a major expansion of the scheme, with only 23 installations completed by November 2025.
Company CEO Dan McGrail said: “Reaching 100 schools is a key milestone in our mission to reduce energy bills and means more money can be spent on education.”
GBE will continue to fund installations on school buildings and the government said around 250 solar units will be installed by the summer, saving up to an estimated combined £220 million over the life of the solar panels.
A total investment by the government and GBE of up to £255 million will involve installations of solar energy and what the government called ‘complementary technologies’, most likely battery energy storage, at around 250 schools and colleges, around 260 NHS sites and several military sites.
The milestone comes shortly after it was confirmed that GBE would lead the company £1 billion local energy plan working with the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to expand local and community ownership of renewable energy plants in the UK.
GBE is ‘exploring’ financing models for the scheme, including early stage project development grants, targeting both community energy groups and partnerships between these groups and local authorities; construction and operating loans, including a shared ownership loan; and a “Local Investment Fund” to identify and finance viable project opportunities.
According to the state-owned company’s five-year strategic plan published December 2025GBE will also establish a portfolio of ‘at least’ 15 GW of clean energy generation and storage capacity and mobilize £15 billion of private finance through out-of-pocket spending.
According to the plan, the portfolio should generate income by 2030. In addition, to enable similar rooftop installations to be financed outside schools, NHS sites and military sites, it will establish a commercial platform to provide an end-to-end business solution for on-site generation.
The programme, GBE Local, will be a showcase open to all consumer groups with a desire to develop on-site energy generation at scale, leveraging the purchasing power of the public sector and standardizing technologies where possible to enable smaller projects to access suppliers and benefit from economies of scale.
