Solar Grants for NHS Trusts 2026 | Post-PSDS Routes

Status update — May 2026. PSDS Phase 4 closed to new applications in November 2024 — existing awards continue to deliver through 2027-28. For NHS trusts that missed the Phase 4 window, the active routes in 2026 are Salix interest-free loans (separate from PSDS, repaid from energy savings), Power Purchase Agreements (zero capex, third-party-owned), Low Carbon Skills Fund for HDP refresh work, and the Local Growth Fund where the trust’s estate is in an eligible Mayoral Authority area.

Why NHS trusts are the largest single beneficiary of PSDS solar funding

The NHS estate accounts for roughly 4% of UK total electricity demand and is on a statutory net-zero pathway under the Health and Care Act 2022 (NHS Net Zero by 2045 for direct emissions, 2040 for influence-able). Salix Phase 4, with £530m allocated through 2028, has explicitly prioritised acute NHS trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS trusts secured £148m in Phase 3b — and applications under Phase 4 are pacing higher.

For trust estates teams, this is the most generous funding window since the original Carbon and Energy Fund. PSDS funds 100% of eligible solar capex when the bid is integrated with heat decarbonisation. For acute trusts with 5,000 to 50,000 square metres of usable roof, that translates to 1 to 5 MWp PV projects with zero capital contribution from the trust.

The constraint is process, not money. NHS trusts have to clear three internal hurdles — the trust’s Sustainable Development Strategy, NHS England Business Case Approval (BCA) for projects above the local delegated authority threshold, and Treasury Green Book five-case business case for projects above £5m total — before an external PSDS application can be submitted. The trusts that move fastest start the internal approval work in parallel with the PSDS scoping, not afterwards.

The Green Plan as the foundation document

Every NHS trust has a published Green Plan covering the path to net zero. The Green Plan is the document PSDS assessors use to validate that an applicant has a credible decarbonisation strategy. A weak or generic Green Plan is the most common reason NHS PSDS bids underperform.

A strong Green Plan, in PSDS terms, includes:

• Building-by-building energy data with direct gas, LPG, oil and electricity broken out
• An estate-wide Heat Decarbonisation Plan with phased capex schedule
• Clear baseline year (most trusts use FY 2017/18 per NHS Net Zero Standard)
• Quantified carbon trajectory by year to 2030 and 2045
• Identified routes to displace medical gas embodied carbon (anaesthetic gas scavenging, etc.)
• Procurement strategy aligned with the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap

We have supported trusts to update or strengthen Green Plans as part of PSDS scoping. The Low Carbon Skills Fund will fund Green Plan refresh work — many trusts don’t realise this and self-fund it unnecessarily.

Solar specific challenges in NHS estates

Roof condition. NHS estates contain a significant share of buildings constructed 1960–1985 with original-spec roofing now beyond design life. Solar PV on a roof with 5 years left on its membrane is a 20-year asset on a 5-year base. PSDS will fund some roof remediation as part of an integrated bid; clarifying this with Salix early is essential.

Asbestos. A significant share of NHS buildings still contain asbestos cement roofing, particularly in plant rooms, link corridors and 1970s extensions. Solar mounting through asbestos cement is restricted; remediation triggers HSE-licensed work. Most trusts handle this by replacing the roof under a separate capital programme and PSDS funds the PV on the new substrate.

Plant room space for heat pumps. Acute trusts running 24/7 medical gas, theatre HVAC and steam infrastructure usually have plant rooms with limited spare space. The space planning for an air-source heat pump array — typically 200 to 800 kW thermal per site — is a months-long exercise. We use IES VE-coupled CAD studies to test placements before committing.

Resilience and standby. Acute trusts have N+1 or N+2 resilience requirements that mean PV cannot be the primary supply. Solar PV operates in parallel with the existing grid connection and standby generators; it does not replace them. Solar in fact complicates the protection coordination on some 11kV/HV connected trusts and requires careful relay studies.

Primary care, community and mental health estates

Primary care networks (PCNs) and community trusts have smaller, more dispersed estates — typically GP surgeries, community hospitals, mental health units. PSDS will fund these but the per-bid economics are tighter because each site has fixed application overhead. The typical answer is to bundle multiple primary care or community sites into a single ICB-led bid.

ICBs have stepped into this role since the 2022 Health and Care Act. We have supported four ICB-level bids in 2024–25, each covering 8–25 community estate buildings.

What PSDS will and won’t fund in NHS settings

Will fund:

• Solar PV with concurrent heat measure
• Air-source heat pumps and hydronic retrofit
• Ground-source heat pumps (where space allows)
• BMS and controls upgrades
• LED lighting paired with controls
• Fabric upgrades (cavity, loft, glazing)
• Building energy management systems with M&V capability

Won’t fund:

• Battery storage that is not part of a decarbonisation outcome (resilience batteries are a separate route)
• Standby generator replacement
• Medical gas system upgrades (separate routes via NHS Estates)
• Combined heat and power (CHP) — explicitly de-prioritised in Phase 4
• Hydrogen-ready boilers
• Pre-existing capital schemes that would have happened anyway

Procurement for NHS PSDS work

NHS-PSDS-funded works run through one of several frameworks:

• NHS Shared Business Services Decarbonisation Framework — the default for whole-estate bids
• Crown Commercial Service RM6168 — used for consultancy and energy management
• Procure22 (P22) — for major capital schemes >£5m bundled with refurbishment
• NHS Property Services frameworks — where the asset is held by NHSPS rather than the trust directly

We typically run procurement through SBS Decarbonisation Framework on behalf of trust clients. The framework has 22 lots covering installation, design, surveying and M&V; using the right lot combination keeps the bid PSDS-compliant and gives the trust four to five viable installer options per lot.

Typical NHS solar project profile

For an acute trust with a 320,000 m² estate, 38 GWh/year electricity demand and 18,000 m² of viable roof:

• System size: 2.4 MWp (mix of rooftop and ground-mount on car park canopies)
• Headline capex: £1.84m
• Heat measure capex (paired ASHP for two outpatient wings): £4.6m
• Total bid: £6.44m
• PSDS award: £6.32m (98% — minor ineligibility on metering)
• Trust contribution: £120k (DNO non-contestable + project management)
• Annual electricity savings: £472,000
• Annual gas savings (post heat pump, net of electricity uplift): £180,000
• Annual carbon savings: 985 tCO2e

These numbers vary widely with trust size and starting position. The point is that a properly bid project lands at near-zero net cost for the trust on a typical PSDS-funded scope.

How to start

For trusts new to PSDS the right starting point is normally a 60-minute call with the head of estates, the trust sustainability lead and our Head of Public Sector (Priya, who was a Salix programme officer prior to joining us). The funding review form is the fastest way to flag interest; we usually arrange the call within a week of the form being submitted. The first conversation is free.