While rooftop and carport solar benefit from permitted development rights, making planning approval relatively straightforward, projects still face significant barriers that limit scalability. This session explores the real blockers: insurance requirements (such as FM Global standards), fire safety regulations mandating module-level shutdown technology, structural assessments, and the complexity of non-standardized PPA contracts that create lengthy negotiations and increased legal costs particularly prohibitive for smaller manufacturers and less cash-rich businesses.
- The most common failure points: insurance regulations and fire safety compliance (beyond planning approval)
- How optimizers (e.g., SolarEdge) are being implemented at initial design stages to meet module-level shutdown requirements and combat fire risk approval challenges
- How non-standardized PPA contracts increase negotiation timelines and legal costs, creating immediate barriers for smaller or less cash-rich businesses
- Pathways for reform and standardization: streamlining PPA contracts and unlocking ground-mount, private-wire solar through accelerated planning approval processes
