Great British Energy announced its first major project in March 2025, a programme intended to enable around 200 schools and up to 200 hospitals in England to install rooftop solar power alongside complementary decarbonisation technologies1.
The UK Solar Roadmap, published in June 2025, records the announcement in its account of the Solar Taskforce's conclusions: "In March 2025, Great British Energy (GBE) announced its first major project"1. The same document sets out the potential it sees in the public sector body, describing the "huge potential of Great British Energy to play" a part in a rooftop rollout across commercial, domestic and public-sector buildings1. The roadmap's rooftop chapter covers domestic, commercial and public-sector solar separately, and treats Great British Energy and the public sector as its own heading within that chapter1.
The wider context is a target of 45 to 47GW of installed solar capacity by 2030, up from over 18GW at the time of publication, as set out in the Clean Power Action Plan1. The roadmap notes that the range could yield 54 to 57GW if additional rooftop projects deploy before 2030, subject to system need and the pipeline of projects1. It states that more than 1.5 million homes across the country have solar installed1.
The roadmap also records that the Solar Taskforce was established in May 2023, re-assembled in Autumn 2024 and reconvened by the Government in July 20241. It presents the taskforce's final conclusions1. The document states that the Government will publish the Future Homes Standard in Autumn, and that a change relating to it will come into force on 31 December 20251. It does not give a figure for the cost of the Great British Energy project, the number of installations completed, or a delivery timetable for the schools and hospitals named1.
Why it matters for households
Public buildings are not private homes, so the direct effect on any household's own solar PV setup is indirect. The significance lies in what the programme signals about the direction of rooftop deployment in England and about the public estate as a route to energy independence at scale. The roadmap frames rooftop solar as the part of the solar mix that can reduce consumer bills immediately, because generation sits at the point of use1. Schools and hospitals are large, steady daytime consumers, and the roadmap treats the public sector as a distinct category within its rooftop chapter1.
For households, the relevant questions are whether a public-sector programme builds installer capacity, supply chains and skills that domestic work also draws on, and whether it establishes standards that later apply to homes. The roadmap addresses installation standards and consumer protection for domestic solar as a separate topic, and commits industry to publishing consumer protection guidance in collaboration with MCS1. It also commits to a Community Benefit Protocol for areas near new solar farms, which concerns ground-mounted development rather than rooftops1.
The roadmap states that the solar sector could support around 35,000 jobs by 2030, double the number it supports today1. It does not report how the Great British Energy programme will be procured, which technologies count as complementary decarbonisation measures, or how schools and hospitals will be selected1.
What happens next
The roadmap lists several dated steps. Ofgem approved NESO's "first ready, first connected" connections reform proposals on 15 April 2025, and from June 2025 all distribution network operators will be required to submit project information to NESO within the relevant Gate Two window1. The Green Heat Finance Accelerator pilot projects conclude by the end of June 20251. A working paper seeking views on a mandatory community benefit fund scheme for low carbon energy infrastructure, and on facilitating shared ownership of renewable generation, was published on 21 May 20251. The Government launched its AR7 contract consultation in March 20251. The roadmap states that the Government will establish a joint Government and industry Solar Council to drive progress1. No next step specific to the Great British Energy schools and hospitals programme is given1.
Sources1 cited
- UK Solar Roadmap 2025, assets.publishing.service.gov.uk