Farm solar quotes routinely cite a FETF grant at 40 percent. It is worth being blunt: there was never a 40% FETF grant for solar, and if a supplier is quoting it they are working from copy that has been recycled around the industry for years.
What FETF actually was
The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund was a fixed-rate equipment fund with a published item list — you applied for specific items at set contribution rates. It was not a percentage capital grant for rooftop solar, and its final round closed in April 2026.
What applies in England instead
For farm rooftop PV in England, the relevant route is the Improving Farm Productivity grant, at 25%. That is a real scheme with real eligibility criteria, and it is the number to work with.
The allowance position, which is worth more than most grants
This is where farm solar economics are usually decided, and it is also commonly stated wrongly:
- Solar PV is special-rate expenditure, so it does not qualify for full expensing.
- The Annual Investment Allowance gives 100% relief in year one up to the £1m annual limit — which covers essentially any farm rooftop system.
- Above that limit, a 50% first-year allowance applies to special-rate expenditure.
The practical effect for a typical farm is the same as full expensing. The label is what matters at the return.
And on rates: on-site renewable generation plant stays outside the rateable value to 2035, so a rooftop array on a farm building does not raise your rates bill.
How to tell a real scheme from recycled copy
Three questions sort it quickly. Which scheme, by name? What is the published contribution rate and where is the scheme document? Is the window currently open, and when does it close? A supplier who cannot answer all three is quoting from a brochure, not a scheme.
Size it to the load, not the roof
The biggest single lever on farm solar economics is not the grant. A unit you consume on the farm displaces the full delivered import price; a unit you export earns the Smart Export Guarantee rate, which is materially lower. Parlour, grain drying, refrigeration, workshop and irrigation loads are what should size the system.
Our agricultural solar page covers how we survey farm roofs — including the asbestos and purlin questions that decide whether a building is suitable at all.