News and insights

Plug-in solar panels become legal in the UK from 27 August, giving more households another way to generate their own electricity. This guide compares plug-in solar with rooftop solar, ground-mounted solar and battery storage, helping you understand where each option fits before you invest.

Battery storage is often associated with solar panels, but that's only part of the story. While solar is one application, battery storage can also help manage electricity use, improve resilience and support changing energy requirements, even where solar isn't currently installed.

Recent headlines about the Government's proposed pay-per-mile tax for electric vehicles have prompted many businesses to ask the same question:

Should we rethink our workplace EV charging plans?

The short answer is not necessarily.

Westhill-based ORKA Solutions is marking four years in business this month, reflecting on four years of supporting organisations across Aberdeen, the North East, and Scotland with commercial solar, EV charging, and battery storage projects.

As businesses review EV charging, commercial solar and battery storage, infrastructure planning conversations are becoming increasingly connected. ORKA Solutions Managing Director Duncan Booth explains why treating these projects separately can create unnecessary cost and future infrastructure challenges.

The increase in Workplace Charging Scheme funding from £350 to £500 is useful.

But the bigger value for businesses is having time to make the right infrastructure decisions before they become urgent ones.

EV charging isn't just about installing a charger; it’s part of wider commercial energy planning.

The businesses treating it as wider commercial planning now are usually the ones that avoid the expensive reactive decisions later.

Rising energy costs and long-term price uncertainty continue to push Scottish businesses to take solar energy more seriously.

Yet many organisations still assume that funding and support is limited to community groups or the public sector.

That’s not always the case.

The UK Government has confirmed that the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) will remain open until 31 March 2026, giving businesses a clear (but time-limited) opportunity to reduce the cost of installing EV charging at their premises.

For organisations planning fleet electrification, staff charging, or future-proofing their sites, this confirmation removes uncertainty - but it also puts a clear deadline on decision-making.

A clear, no-nonsense breakdown of how the Autumn Budget affects EV charging, workplace electrification and energy planning in Scotland — from ORKA’s expert team.

Electric vehicle infrastructure is maturing faster than many predicted — and the recent UK Budget has finally acknowledged it.

This isn’t a conversation about policy — it’s a marker of where the industry now sits, and what that means for organisations making long-term infrastructure decisions.