Installer guide · 12 min read

Public Sector Solar Funding in the UK: PSDS, Salix and Great British Energy

By Roman Steer-Love, co-founder of TNW Marketing · published 23 October 2026 · scheme statuses checked 23 October 2026

Short answer: the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) is closed to new money. Phase 4 closed to new applications in November 2024, and on 12 June 2025 Salix said there will be no additional PSDS funding beyond projects already awarded. Those projects are still being built: Phase 4 work must be complete by 31 March 2028. In England, the main public money for rooftop solar is now the Great British Energy Solar Partnership (up to £255m for schools, NHS sites and military sites). In Scotland and Wales, Salix runs public sector loan schemes that are open for applications. None of it is paid to installers directly: you win the work the public body then buys.

Public sector solar funding: what is open and what has closed

Statuses as published by GOV.UK, Salix and Great British Energy on 23 October 2026. Schemes open and close quickly, so check the source before you plan around one.

PSDS: what closed and what is still being spent

PSDS was the government grant for decarbonising public buildings in England, delivered by Salix. The GOV.UK collection records four phases: £1bn of grants in Phase 1, £75m in Phase 2, over £1.425bn across Phase 3, and a Phase 4 that closed to new applications in November 2024.

After the June 2025 Spending Review, Salix wrote to its mailing list that the government had decided to commit no further investment to the scheme beyond projects already awarded. The same bulletin said all awarded projects remain fully funded, that more than £1bn of PSDS budget would still be invested up to 2028, and that Phase 4 grant funding continues until 31 March 2028.

For an installer, that means two things. First, there is no new PSDS round to wait for. Second, there is still delivery work: public bodies with Phase 4 grants are building projects now. Under the Phase 4 criteria, solar panels count only where they reduce the electrical demand of a building served by a PSDS-funded low carbon heating plant. So PSDS solar usually sits inside a heat pump or heat network contract, and the way in is often as a specialist under the main contractor.

Great British Energy solar for schools, NHS and military sites

Great British Energy (GBE) is the publicly owned energy company. Its first major project, announced on 21 March 2025, put around £80m into rooftop solar for about 200 schools and £100m into nearly 200 NHS sites in England. The schools were selected by government; for hospitals, the NHS ran an expression of interest process and the installations are managed by the NHS.

• 1 October 2025: the scheme was extended to up to £255m, covering around 250 schools, over 270 NHS sites and around 15 military sites.
• 5 February 2026: £74m was announced for clean energy upgrades at 82 NHS trusts, 8 military sites and 1 prison, with more than £9m delivered in partnership with GBE for batteries and solar panels.
• 16 July 2026: the government said 245 schools and colleges had government-funded solar, and 100 more would join the GBE Solar Partnership with up to £40m.
• The private investor pilot: in the same announcement, 150 schools and colleges in Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands and the South East will have private investors fund, install, own and maintain the panels after passing quality checks. The school pays nothing upfront and buys the electricity at a rate below its normal tariff. The pilot will inform a national rollout from 2027 to 2028.

The announcements do not say how installers or investors are chosen, so do not assume a route. The pilot is a power purchase agreement model in all but name: an investor owns the system and sells the power. Our guide to commercial solar PPAs explains how installers partner with that kind of funder.

Scotland and Wales: Salix loans

Outside England, Salix runs loan schemes for the devolved governments, and some carry GBE money for solar.

• Scotland. The Scottish Public Sector Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme offers zero-interest loans to eligible public bodies and is open for applications for 2026/27. The Scotland Recycling Fund is also open. A separate £2m of GBE money earmarked for solar PV is in delivery and closed to new applications.
• Wales. The Wales Funding Programme lends to public bodies for energy efficiency and decarbonisation and is open for applications. A £9m GBE package is split between it (£4m, administered by Salix) and Ymestyn grants run by the Welsh Government Energy Service. To qualify for the GBE money, projects should complete and spend by 30 November 2026.

These are loans to the public body. An installer cannot apply, but a council, university or health board that knows a zero-interest loan is available may be ready to buy sooner.

How installers win public sector solar work now

1. Follow the money to named buyers. The March 2025 GOV.UK release linked a list of the hospitals, and Great British Energy has published a map of participating sites. A funded body still has to buy the installation.
2. Get onto the routes public bodies buy through. Public bodies publish on Find a Tender, Contracts Finder and the devolved portals, and many buy through frameworks. Our guide to commercial solar tenders and frameworks lists the portals, frameworks and what buyers ask for.
3. Offer to subcontract on PSDS heat projects. Phase 4 solar sits alongside low carbon heating, so main contractors delivering those projects to March 2028 may need a solar specialist.
4. Talk to funders for the schools pilot. If private investors fund, own and maintain school systems, they need installers who meet their quality checks. Build those relationships before the national rollout from 2027 to 2028.
5. Use the Scottish and Welsh loan windows. In Wales, the GBE money needs spend by 30 November 2026. A public body there with a ready project has a deadline.
6. Prepare the evidence buyers score. Comparable case studies, accreditations, insurance and social value answers take time to assemble, so have them ready before the notice is published.

Balancing public and private work

Public solar work follows funding rounds, and those rounds open, close and change. Bids also cost time you are not paid for. A steady private sector pipeline alongside it smooths the gaps: businesses that own their building, pay a large electricity bill and can decide without a tender. If you want that pipeline booked for you, see pay per appointment commercial solar leads or how appointment setting for solar installers works. For the market numbers behind both, see the UK commercial solar market in numbers.