The government has recently announced that around 100 more schools are set to join the Great British Energy Solar Partnership, backed by up to £40 million from the government1.
A further 150 schools and colleges across Yorkshire & Humber, the East Midlands and the South East will pilot a new model, with the private sector installing and maintaining high quality panels at no upfront cost.
Tomas Karger, Partner, Chartered (UK) and European Patent Attorney in Marks & Clerk energy team, said: “The news that hundreds of schools across the UK will soon install solar panels is excellent news. Reducing energy bills in the public sector allows for resources to be diverted for social benefit, for example into pupil education.
“Solar technology presents a unique challenge given the timing of the academic year. The record heat wave across Europe may have fallen outside the usual summer holidays, but there is no escaping that the period of highest solar energy production (summer) does not coincide with that of highest energy demand (winter). In this context, control equipment, batteries, grid tie-ins, and monitoring equipment increase in relevance to maximise ROI for the taxpayer and privately funded investment in solar panels in schools.
“The European Patent Office (EPO) which regularly issues reports monitoring patenting activity – a useful proxy for technological innovation – highlighted advances in photovoltaics (PVs) in their July 2025 report. This included expected innovations in PV materials and technological improvement at the solar module level. However, increasing patenting was reported in the management of PV installations such as automated panel cleaning, fault detection, and AI-based diagnostics and testing technologies which optimise system performance. Innovation in these ancillary systems assist in reducing the costs and increases the revenues of solar panels making them a viable investment option for government and industry.
“The solar industry may be maturing past basic hardware manufacturing into the era of smart system integration. By pairing physical panels with proprietary software, dynamic storage, and grid-integration technologies, private providers working with the public sector can turn seasonal energy liabilities into predictable assets.”
Source
- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hundreds-more-schools-to-save-on-bills-as-government-solar-drive-slashes-millions-off-energy-costs
