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Warehouses & supermarkets: untapped solar giants?
Supermarkets are already vital hubs within our communities, but there's scope for them to become sustanabiliy trailblazers
Supermarkets and warehouses are at the heart of daily life in the UK. They feed our families, connect our communities, and dominate our local skylines. But there’s one thing they’re not doing enough of: powering the communities they serve.
Today, just 5% of UK warehouses are fitted with solar panels, even though supermarkets and distribution centres are among the most perfectly suited buildings for solar installations.
What makes these buildings perfect for solar panels?
- Their sheet metal standing seam and trapezoidal roofs make installs quick, simple and cheap (often below £1,000/kW via CAPEX). And the large roof areas make solar cheaper per unit and more impactful per site.
- Food retail and cold chain logistics consume huge amounts of electricity during the day, exactly when solar produces it.
- Unlike homes, businesses don’t benefit from a price cap. Solar provides certainty, fixing energy prices for up to 25 years at below-grid rates.
- As pressure to demonstrate sustainability grows, having solar panels on roofs is a visible, measurable way to deliver environmental and social return alongside financial performance.
Beyond energy: A circular economy opportunity
The potential doesn’t stop with solar on roofs. Supermarkets and warehouses have vast underused assets (car parks, logistics hubs, and community presence) that could be reimagined as part of a wider circular economy ecosystem:
- EV charging hubs – store car parks can become places to charge electric cars, vans and e-bikes, powered directly by rooftop solar.
- Shared mobility – fleets of supermarket delivery vans could double as community EV car-share schemes during off-peak hours.
- Local energy storage – warehouses and distribution centres can host batteries to store surplus power, improving resilience for both the business and the surrounding community.
- Closed-loop systems – integrating solar, charging, logistics and food waste recycling could turn supermarkets into true sustainability anchors.
And the really exciting part is that all of this can be powered and co-owned by the very people who shop there.
Customers as participants, not just shoppers
The real innovation lies in how this transformation can be funded. Through a community Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), customers and the community can raise the capital for solar installations via investment platforms like Ethex.
For supermarkets, this means that they don’t have upfront costs to pay, and they also benefit from energy being supplied at predictable, below-grid prices. Their customers and community become co-owners, feeling genuine pride and a connection to the supermarket, which strengthens trust and engagement.
In effect, supermarkets can turn their customer base into a community sustainability movement, one that reduces operational costs, meets net zero targets, and strengthens community ties all at once.
A national opportunity
Through Ethex, over £80 million has already been raised for UK solar and renewable projects, mostly built on this community-investment model. The appetite from UK investors is clear.
So what if supermarkets unlocked the potential of their roofs and car parks to become clean energy and mobility powerhouses?
They would cut costs and emissions and reimagine their role in society, from being just a place where people shop to being a place where people own a stake in their sustainable future.
Supermarkets have led the way on ethical food sourcing, waste reduction, and loyalty schemes. Could the next innovation be helping customers co-own the solar panels above their heads as well as the EV chargers beneath their feet?
If you want to discuss potential community-funded solar energy projects, we'd love to hear from you.
Ben.Sharpe@ethex.org.uk
If you want to discuss potential community-funded solar energy projects, we'd love to hear from you.
Ben.Sharpe@ethex.org.uk
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