Decision

To approve, award and enter into, a new concession contract with iChoosr to participate in the next four rounds of the Solar Together bulk buy scheme (now Switch Together) for solar PV, battery storage and EV Chargers.

Reasons for the decision

The council declared a Climate Emergency in February 2019 and committed to seeking to make Wiltshire carbon-neutral by 2030.

Delivery of the Business Plan 2025–2035 is supported by action that enables residents and organisations to adopt low-carbon technologies and contribute to a more sustainable, resilient Wiltshire. The Switch Together programme aligns with the Business Plan’s focus on a sustainable environment, promoting investment in renewable energy, strengthening local energy resilience, and encouraging community participation in carbon-reduction activity. By facilitating access to affordable solar PV and battery storage through a trusted route, participation in upcoming schemes, helps advance the council’s long-term aims for a greener, more energy-independent county.

Implementation of the Climate Strategy is progressed through initiatives that accelerate renewable energy generation and improve the performance of Wiltshire’s buildings. The scheme supports two of the Strategy’s core themes—Energy and Homes & the Built Environment—by expanding rooftop solar generation, increasing local clean-energy capacity, and helping households cut emissions. The approach also reflects the Strategy’s emphasis on partnership working and large-scale engagement, providing a practical mechanism for residents to take meaningful climate action and contributing towards Wiltshire’s ambition to become carbon-neutral by 2030.

Wiltshire has successfully delivered four previous schemes, enabling more than 2,000 households to install solar panels and battery storage, supported by over £17M of private investment, generating a total installed capacity of 8MW and delivering an estimated 39,000 tonnes of CO2 savings over 25 years. Scheme 3 (2024) achieved average annual bill reductions of £495 per household.

Switch Together provides a trusted, council-endorsed route for residents, businesses and community groups to access high-quality solar PV and battery installations at competitive prices through a vetted, collective-purchasing model.

The council and iChoosr jointly promote the scheme to households who are most likely to benefit, using targeted, co-branded communications, before iChoosr conducts a reverse auction to secure a qualified installer offering the lowest priced compliant bid.

Residents can register without commitment, receive a personalised quote after the auction, and proceed only if their property is assessed as suitable, ensuring a simple, managed low-risk process supported by economies of scale.

Benefits of participating in Switch Together Solar

Benefits to residents are:
• Low-cost solar PV and battery storage through group buying
• Trusted, vetted installers and quality assurance
• Simple hassle-free process from registration to installation and post installation support
• Meaningful reductions in household energy bills
• Increased energy independence and security which can protect from price shocks
• Insurance-backed guarantees and consumer protection
• Proven scheme with a large and international track record
• An opportunity to contribute to tackling the climate emergency

The benefits to the council are:
• Advances the council’s Business Plan and strategic objectives, including delivery of the Climate Strategy and progress toward a carbon-neutral Wiltshire by 2030.
• Delivers measurable carbon-reduction outcomes through large-scale uptake of rooftop solar and battery storage.
• Operates on a cost-neutral delivery model, with scheme fees offsetting the cost of officer time, marketing and administrative costs.
• Unlocks substantial private investment into Wiltshire, driving the growth of local renewable capacity without requiring council capital funding.
• Stimulates economic activity in the green energy sector.
• Enhances public trust in renewable energy incentives by providing a vetted council-endorsed route to high-quality installations.
• Reduces operational burden for the council, as iChoosr manages supplier vetting, installer procurement, customer handling and quality assurance.
• Minimises resident-facing demand on council services, with iChoosr providing customer support with historically low levels of complaints.
• Builds community engagement and climate literacy, helping residents understand and adopt low-carbon technologies.
• Enables a small amount of officer time to deliver high impact, leveraging staff capacity to facilitate carbon savings and private investment.

Risks and Mitigations - see attached document.

Implications
Staffing: Staffing implications are limited to officer time within the Climate and Communications team functions to support promotion, coordination and oversight of the scheme. No additional posts are required, and the contract enables recovery of staffing and promotional costs through scheme fees. IChoosr’s management of installer vetting, customer support and quality assurance further reduces operational burden on council staff.

Financial: Participation in the scheme is expected to be cost-neutral, as scheme fee income is designed to cover the councils direct marketing and administrative costs. The peak requirement of approximately 1.5 officer days a week during the promotional period (6-9 weeks) and around 0.5 days a week during the installation phase. The financial risk is limited and mitigated by the schemes established track record and use of cost recovery fee structure. The council does not handle any resident payments, as all financial transactions occur between the resident, iChoosr and the installer.

Legal: The concession contract with iChoosr has been reviewed through the councils legal and procurement processes to ensure compliance with procurement, contracting and data-protection requirements. Procurement services have confirmed that the council is not required to run a tender procedure to award this contract. Data sharing arrangements comply with GDPR, with iChoosr responsible for managing all registration data. There are no anticipated legal barriers to entering into the contract

I confirm that in making this decision I have considered the following in line with Wiltshire Council’s Constitution:

Key decision requirements: NA

Views of relevant cabinet member(s), committee chairman, area board(s): Yes. The decision to participate in the Switch Together scheme has been made by Cllr Paul Sample, Cabinet Member for Environment, Climate and Waste

Consultation with cabinet member(s), the Leader and Scrutiny (for Executive decisions taken under Emergency Powers): NA

Consultation in accordance with the council’s consultation guidance and the views emanating from that process: NA

Implication of any council policy, initiative, strategy or procedure: Yes. See attached document.

Staffing, financial and legal implications: Yes. See attached document.

The assessment of any associated risks in accordance with the Council’s risk management strategy: Yes. See attached document.

Involvement of appropriate statutory officers and/or corporate directors and directors: NA

Regional or national guidance from other bodies where relevant: NA

The council’s constitution, including the Procurement and Contract Rules (Part 10) and the Financial Regulations and Procedure Rules (Part 9), all relevant guidance, legislation, codes of practice, and protocols: Yes. Complies with procurement rules – has been awarded with involvement of procurement team – concession only.

Alternative options considered

Do nothing: Rejected. Not participating would remove a trusted route for residents to access low-cost renewables, reduce uptake of solar PV across Wiltshire, and weaken progress toward carbon-neutral commitments.

Council-run scheme: Rejected. A council-led procurement and administration model would require significantly greater officer capacity, longer lead times and higher cost. iChoosr’s national model provides economies of scale and specialist expertise that the council cannot deliver cost-effectively.