A
- Adult Education Budget (AEB)
- ESFA-administered funding for adult skills delivery in FE colleges; devolved to several Mayoral Combined Authorities in their geographies.
- Agri-PV
- Photovoltaic systems integrated into agricultural land use — semi-transparent panels above crops, ground-mount within pasture, or building-integrated on glasshouses. Increasingly relevant for land-based colleges.
- Apprenticeship End-Point Assessment (EPA)
- The final assessment for an apprentice; scheduling constraint for FE solar projects because EPA windows on campus need to be protected from disruption.
- AoC (Association of Colleges)
- The representative body for FE corporations in England. Joint author of the AoC/EAUC Climate Action Roadmap (Nov 2024) mandating board-approved Climate Action Plans by end-2025.
- Astro SSG
- Static site generator framework used to build this and other SEO Dons EMD portfolio sites. Astro 5 with Content Layer API, Tailwind 4.
- Asbestos Management Survey
- Statutory survey identifying asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in buildings constructed before 2000. Mandatory check for solar projects on pre-2000 FE estate. R&D survey is the more thorough variant required where works will penetrate building fabric.
B
- BTEC Sustainable Engineering
- Vocational qualification covering sustainable engineering practice; FE colleges with on-campus solar can embed install data into BTEC scheme of work.
C
- Capacity Market
- GB energy market mechanism that pays generators for guaranteed availability during winter peak windows. Battery storage at FE colleges can participate, generating modest additional revenue.
- CfD (Contracts for Difference)
- Government renewable energy support scheme; not directly relevant for college solar at sub-MW scales but underpins UK grid carbon intensity trajectory.
- Climate Action Plan
- Board-approved sustainability roadmap required of every UK college under the AoC/EAUC Climate Action Roadmap by end-2025. Solar PV is typically the lead intervention.
- Condition Improvement Fund (CIF)
- DfE capital programme for academy and sixth form college estate condition works; solar can be embedded in larger refurbishment bids.
- Conservation Officer
- Local authority officer responsible for Listed Building Consent decisions. Critical stakeholder for solar projects on Grade II listed FE estate (common in SDIs and converted sixth forms).
- CoP (Coefficient of Performance)
- Efficiency ratio of a heat pump — typical 3.0-4.0 seasonal. Higher is better. Relevant for PSDS Phase 4 bundled bids pairing solar with heat decarbonisation.
D
- DBS Clearance
- Disclosure and Barring Service check required for all installers working on FE college sites with 16-18 cohort presence. Enhanced + Children's Barred List variant.
- DESNZ
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero — the UK government department that ultimately funds the Salix Decarbonisation Loan and PSDS Phase 4 schemes.
- DfE
- Department for Education — administers FE Capital Transformation Fund, T-Level Capital Fund, post-16 capacity funding, and oversight of Skills England.
- DNO (Distribution Network Operator)
- The regional electricity network company (Northern Powergrid, ENW, NPg, UKPN, SSEN, WPD, SP Manweb/Energy Networks). Issues G99/G98 connection agreements for solar projects.
E
- EAUC
- Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges. Joint author with AoC of the Climate Action Roadmap. Operates the Sustainability Leadership Scorecard.
- EFRE (Education Funding and Research Establishment)
- Historical reference; in practice 16-19 funding is now administered via ESFA. Sometimes still appears in legacy budget documents.
- ESFA (Education and Skills Funding Agency)
- DfE arm administering 16-19, apprenticeship and adult education funding. ESFA Post-16 Audit Code applies to all FE college capital projects.
F
- FE Capital Transformation Fund
- DfE capital programme funding major FE estate transformation; typical project values £500k-£20m+ with embedded sustainability scoring.
- FReM (Government Financial Reporting Manual)
- Accounting framework that FE corporations switched to following the November 2022 ONS reclassification into central government.
G
- G98
- Engineering Recommendation governing distributed generation connection at or below 17 kW per phase; faster DNO processing than G99.
- G99
- Engineering Recommendation governing distributed generation connection above 17 kW per phase. Required for almost all FE college solar installs. DNO turnaround typically 12-18 weeks.
- GPDO (General Permitted Development Order 2015)
- Statutory instrument under which most college solar PV is permitted development (Class A Part 14), requiring no planning permission.
H
- HE-in-FE
- Higher Education delivered within FE provider; some larger FE corporations deliver Level 4-5 HE alongside their 16-19 and adult provision.
- HHD (Half-Hourly Data)
- Metered electricity consumption data at half-hourly resolution; the auditable baseline for Salix energy savings calculations.
I
- IfATE (Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education)
- Former arm's-length apprenticeship body, replaced by Skills England (which sits within DfE) in June 2025.
- Inverter
- The electronic unit that converts DC output from solar panels to AC for grid synchronisation. String, central, and hybrid (with battery integration) variants used in FE projects.
K
- KCSIE (Keeping Children Safe in Education) 2025
- Statutory safeguarding guidance applying to FE colleges with 16-18 cohorts. Drives DBS clearance and induction requirements for solar install crews.
L
- LBC (Listed Building Consent)
- Statutory consent required for works affecting a listed building's special interest. Common on SDIs, converted sixth forms, and some historic FE main buildings.
- LFA (Local Flood Authority)
- Lead authority for surface water drainage; can be a stakeholder for large ground-mount solar projects on land-based campuses.
- Luminate, NCG, LTE Group, Activate Learning, Capital City
- Major UK FE group corporations operating multi-campus portfolios suited to single Salix portfolio bids.
M
- MCA (Mayoral Combined Authority)
- Devolved regional authority (Greater Manchester, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, etc.) running decarbonisation grant programmes accessible to local FE estate.
- MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme)
- Quality assurance scheme for renewable energy installers. MCS commercial certification mandatory for FE college solar installs claiming SEG.
N
- NPISH
- Not-for-profit institutions serving households — the ONS sector classification FE colleges sat in until November 2022.
O
- ONS Reclassification (November 2022)
- ONS decision moving FE corporations, sixth form colleges, SDIs and land-based colleges into central government sector, retroactive to 1 April 1993. Unlocked Salix and PSDS Phase 4 access.
- Ofsted
- Education inspection body. Solar projects don't typically affect Ofsted outcomes negatively; can be a positive where curriculum integration is documented.
- OfS (Office for Students)
- Regulator for HE provision; relevant where FE colleges deliver HE-in-FE provision with mixed funding streams.
P
- PPA (Power Purchase Agreement)
- Long-term contract where a third party installs and operates solar, selling output to the college at a fixed per-kWh rate. Alternative to capital purchase or Salix-funded ownership.
- PSDS (Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme) Phase 4
- 100% capital grant programme administered by Salix on behalf of DESNZ for public sector decarbonisation. Open to FE colleges since the November 2022 reclassification.
R
- RECC (Renewable Energy Consumer Code)
- Consumer code certification scheme; one of the standard accreditations expected of FE solar installers.
S
- Salix Decarbonisation Loan
- Interest-free capital loan up to £600k per project, repaid from energy savings over 8 years. The default funding route for FE college solar projects since November 2022.
- Scope-1 / Scope-2 / Scope-3
- Greenhouse Gas Protocol emissions categories. Scope-1 = direct (gas, fuel), Scope-2 = electricity, Scope-3 = procurement, travel, food. Climate Action Plans set targets across all three.
- SEG (Smart Export Guarantee)
- Ofgem-regulated mechanism paying solar generators for exported electricity. 4-15p/kWh depending on licensee. Octopus Outgoing and E.ON Next Export Exclusive lead the non-domestic market.
- Skills England
- DfE body (June 2025) replacing IfATE, with remit on aligning FE delivery with national skills priorities including green skills.
- Specialist Designated Institution (SDI)
- Subset of FE sector for residential adult education providers; includes Ruskin, Northern College, Working Men's College, Fircroft. Within scope of November 2022 reclassification.
- SSEN, WPD, UKPN, NPg, ENW, SPM
- Major UK DNOs by region: SSEN (Scotland, central south), WPD (Midlands, SW), UKPN (East, SE), NPg (Yorks, NE), ENW (NW England), SPM (N Wales, Cheshire).
- String Inverter
- Inverter configuration where panels are wired in series strings; common configuration for FE college solar up to 350 kW. Lower cost than central inverters; redundancy is per-string.
- Sustainability Leadership Scorecard
- EAUC-administered self-assessment framework for FE/HE sustainability reporting. Annual return covering governance, curriculum, estate, partnerships, reporting.
- Sustainability Lead
- Board-level role required of every FE corporation under the AoC Climate Action Roadmap. Reports to Principal/CEO and corporation board.
T
- T-Level Capital Fund
- DfE programme funding new workshop and equipment for T-Level delivery. Solar can be designed into roof of new workshop builds for embedded sustainability scoring.
- T-Levels
- Technical qualifications introduced 2020+ across Construction, Engineering, Building Services, Digital, Health, Education, Agriculture and other routes. Curriculum maps to live solar installs.
- Triad
- Half-hourly demand windows that historically attracted demand-reduction payments. Being phased out; replaced by Demand Flexibility Service and Balancing Mechanism reforms.
- TrustMark
- Government-endorsed quality scheme for tradespeople; one of the standard accreditations expected of FE solar installers.
W
- WHO Air Quality Guidelines
- Indirectly relevant where solar replaces gas combustion in heating systems; contributes to local air quality narrative in PSDS Phase 4 bids.
Y
- YPLA (Young People's Learning Agency)
- Historical reference; 16-19 funding is now administered via ESFA. Sometimes still appears in legacy estates strategy documents.