The UK commercial solar market is growing faster than ever. But batteries are quickly becoming the key to unlocking deeper savings, smarter energy use, and better long-term value.

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At Solar & Storage Live London 2025, Orkestra Co-CEO and Head of Growth, James Allston, delivered a practical and insight-packed session on how to identify and unlock battery value for commercial solar projects.

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This talk is for anyone working in commercial solar, storage, and energy consulting. The 20 minute presentation is backed by real data and our learnings from C&I projects. It is a must watch if you want to deliver smarter solutions, sell more effectively, and reduce project risk.

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Our Five Key Takeaways on Commercial Battery Opportunities in the UK

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1. (Really) Understand the Customer’s Problem

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Most customers aren’t asking for storage. They’re trying to lower energy bills, deal with rising costs, improve sustainability, or avoid grid issues.

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Understanding their real motivation is key. That means asking the right questions, testing ideas, and refining the solution. In many cases, a customer may not know what they need.

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As James pointed out, the best solar and battery solutions start with a simple goal - help customers understand what they actually want.

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2. Think Holistically About the Solution

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A battery on its own doesn’t always deliver. A key insight from the talk was that batteries only deliver strong value when you look at the full picture, solar generation, tariff type, site energy use, and even financing options like PPAs.

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Batteries become more attractive when you align all parts of the project, technical, financial, and strategic, from the start.

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3. Tariff Optimisation is Critical

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Many UK businesses are still on flat or bundled tariffs, which limits what batteries can do. But when sites move to fully unbundled tariffs, new revenue and savings opportunities emerge.

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James highlights in the presentation that fully unbundled bills unlock the full value stack. Helping your customer make that shift is a critical step.

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So if a customer is on a flat or bundled tariff, start there. Without tariff optimisation, most battery projects won’t deliver the returns you or your customers expect.

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4. Consider Financing and Service Models

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Batteries incorporated into financing models like PPAs can be a major enabler for other technologies and outcomes, when considered holistically.

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Financing models like PPAs can open the door for battery adoption,  but only if the full picture is considered from the start. This is easy to do in Orkestra - book a demo with our team here to find out how.

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(PPA in business model builder)

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5. Don’t Shy Away from Complexity

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The details are where battery value lives. Look closely at how a site uses energy, how tariffs are structured, and what charges can be reduced. This level of detail matters. A flat-rate model won't show you the savings. You need accurate modelling and a clear value stack.

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The businesses that take the time to understand this are the ones building better projects,  and winning more deals.

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Explore Battery Opportunities in more Detail

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To help solar companies break through the complexity and explore these concepts in more detail, Orkestra has published a new white paper: Commercial Battery Opportunities in the UK: A Strategic Playbook.

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We deployed our sophisticated feasibility modelling software to analyse 28 projects across 11,000 scenarios, exploring different tariff structures and battery functionality. The result is a clear, data-driven roadmap for unlocking the full potential of commercial battery storage.

Our key finding is that adding batteries to commercial solar installs is a huge growth opportunity for solar retailers and installers across the UK – you just need to know where to look.

The free 50-slide guide is out now – access it here.

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Start a free trial of Orkestra

We can help you model C&I battery and solar projects in minutes. See where value stacks up. Test tariff changes. And build PPA-ready business cases, all without spreadsheets.

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Try it for yourself-  Start your free trial today, no credit card needed!

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