Rooftop solar pioneers sought as CPRE opens nominations for Centenary Award

Nominations are open for the CPRE Centenary Awards, marking 100 years of countryside campaigning. The awards will culminate in a ceremony at the Houses of Parliament on 29 October 2026. Six categories are offered, including a flagship Best Rooftop Solar Solution award aimed at rooftop solar deployment. The push aligns with government support shifting toward panels on roofs rather than fields. CPRE previously warned that many large solar farms occupy productive agricultural land, including valuable fields. Government measures include business rates relief through 2035 and streamlined planning for installations above 1MW. SMEs have increased clean power generation, with more renewable electricity coming from SME-scale rooftop arrays. Nominations are expected to show community involvement, landscape-sensitive design, and long-term environmental benefits.

"Britain's small businesses, community energy co-operatives and rural entrepreneurs are being urged to step into the spotlight as the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) opens nominations for its inaugural Centenary Awards, with a flagship category dedicated to rooftop solar deployment."

"Earlier this year, CPRE warned that nearly two-thirds of England's largest solar farms have been built on productive agricultural land, with a third sited on the country's most valuable fields - a finding that has only sharpened ministerial appetite for unlocking the estimated 250,000 hectares of suitable commercial and domestic roof space across the UK."

"The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has since signalled a step-change in support for commercial rooftop solar, including business rates relief running through to 2035 and streamlined planning for installations above 1MW."

"CPRE has set a deliberately ambitious bar. Successful nominations should demonstrate some, or ideally all, of four hallmarks: meaningful local community involvement in choosing and approving the site; sensitive design that minimises visual impact on the surrounding landscape; long-term eco"

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