The Solar Trade Association (STA) has published a “simple and clear checklist” to give business managers the confidence to put solar panels on their roofs.

Commercial and industrial roofs dominate the solar market in Europe but in the UK commercial roofs account for only 5% of all solar deployment to date, the STA claim.

However, as part of DECC’s 2014 Solar PV Strategy, the emphasis is now changing significantly towards boosting rooftop installations and the STA is working with the government to help.

The small commercial roofs sub-market (50kW-250kW) is growing “steadily but slowly”, with 170MW installed in total across 1200 installations.

One of the limiting factors to the market is commercial awareness and confidence from rooftop owners who need reliable guidance.

The latest DECC data shows there are only 70 larger scale (250kW+) solar roofs installed across the UK.

More high profile schemes like the Jaguar Land Rover and BMW car factory roofs are needed, STA said.

Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom said: “Solar is an integral part of the UK’s energy mix.

“It’s great to see industry initiatives like this boosting confidence and take-up, so hardworking families and businesses can benefit from low carbon energy and lower bills.”

The checklist, which can be downloaded from the STA website, is applicable to all sizes of commercial rooftop installation from schools and small businesses to large supermarkets and factories.