Salix Funding for Solar Panels in Schools
How Salix Finance and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme work for schools, how they differ from Great British Energy grants, and what makes a fundable application.
What is Salix Finance?
Salix Finance is a government-owned company that delivers public-sector energy-efficiency funding. Its flagship programme, the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), has provided more than £1 billion across successive phases for measures in public buildings — solar PV, LED lighting, heating upgrades, controls and heat decarbonisation — with schools and academies among the eligible bodies.
Salix funding is grant-based: where a project is approved, the grant covers a defined share of eligible costs. The scheme's logic is efficiency first — applications are expected to show that the building wastes less energy before or alongside generating cleaner energy.
Salix also runs the schools conversation itself: its September 2026 schools roundtable emphasised that successful projects are about "creating the right conditions for lasting change" — leadership and evidence, not just kit.
What Salix-funded projects typically cover
- Solar PV and other on-site generation
- LED lighting and lighting controls
- Heating upgrades — heat pumps, heating controls, pipework
- Building fabric and controls — insulation, BMS improvements
- Heat decarbonisation plans — via related funds (windows have opened and closed; check current status)
Schemes and windows change year to year. Always check salixfinance.co.uk/funding-schemes for what is currently open.
Salix or Great British Energy?
Both are government-backed routes to school solar — they are separate programmes with different scopes and mechanics.
| Factor | Salix (PSDS) | Great British Energy schools scheme |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Wider energy-efficiency & heat decarbonisation (solar can be one measure) | Rooftop solar for schools specifically |
| Scale to date | £1bn+ across PSDS phases, all public sectors | 245 schools fitted; 100 more in the current £40m wave |
| How it reaches schools | Defined funding windows via Salix | Periodic waves via GBE delivery partners |
| Conditions | Efficiency-first: measures and evidence required | Roof readiness, DNO checks, eligibility criteria |
| Best suited to | Schools planning wider refurbishment (heating, lighting, fabric) alongside solar | Schools focused specifically on solar |
Neither route is exclusive — where timing allows, schools sometimes combine a wider decarbonisation project with a GBE or PPA-funded solar element. UEC's feasibility study maps which route (or combination) fits your site; see all five funding routes compared. If no grant window fits, the zero-capex PPA delivers the same outcome now.
What makes a fundable application
Funding windows are competitive and time-boxed. The applications that succeed share the same evidence base, which is exactly what UEC Energy's feasibility process produces:
- Half-hourly consumption data — at least 12 months, showing the load profile the measures will change
- A heat decarbonisation plan where the scheme requires one (note: the Low Carbon Skills Fund had no funding in 2025–26 — plan evidence early)
- Roof and condition surveys for every building in scope
- Quantified savings — cost and carbon, measure by measure, with payback
- Governance sign-off — trust or governor approval ready to move when the window opens
Be window-ready, not window-chasing
UEC Energy builds the full evidence pack — consumption analysis, roof surveys, measures schedule and savings model — and checks every open route: Salix, Great British Energy, CIF and the zero-capex PPA. You move when the window opens, not after it closes.
Start Your Evidence PackMore in our schools programme: solar panels for schools · GBE scheme guide
Salix questions, answered
Can schools apply to Salix for solar panels?
Schools and academies are eligible public bodies for Salix-administered funding where a scheme phase is open to them. Applications go through defined funding windows rather than an always-open portal, and conditions typically require energy-efficiency foundations alongside low-carbon generation. Check salixfinance.co.uk for the currently open scheme.
Is Salix the same as the Great British Energy scheme?
No — they are separate programmes. GBE's schools scheme funds rooftop solar directly through its own waves (245 schools fitted so far), while Salix delivers the broader PSDS covering a wider set of measures of which solar can be one part. A school can be eligible for either or both at different times.
What if no Salix or GBE window is open when we're ready?
That is precisely what the zero-capex PPA is for: the same physical system with no capital outlay, fixed-price cheaper electricity for 15 years, and no dependency on funding rounds. See solar PPA for schools.
Source: Salix Finance — Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme; Salix schools roundtable (September 2026). This page is an independent guide — UEC Energy is not affiliated with Salix Finance. Scheme details last reviewed 2 October 2026.