German supermarket chain Lidl has seen its business rates soar by 528% due to changes in the valuation of solar installations at its sites. The company has currently installed solar panels at seven of its stores, which provide more than 30% of the energy at each. The installation of panels leads to an increase in the business rates Lidl must pay for each site, but while in 2010 for a 180kWp system this would have amounted to £689 per annum the company explains, in 2017 this went up to £4,329 per annum.
Solar Power Portal 3rd Mar 2020 read more »