Is there enough sun around Camborne to make this work?

Modelled at 921 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 461,000 kWh a year before shading. That array needs about 1,485 sqm of clear roof once ridge vents and walkways are allowed for. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Who do we apply to for export near Camborne?

Only National Grid Electricity Distribution can answer it for your connection, and on rural feeders the answer varies farm to farm. An export-limited offer usually still works, because a holding with grain drying, cooling or ventilation uses most of what it makes.

Do we need planning permission in Cornwall?

In most cases no, because panels on the roof of an agricultural building usually sit within permitted development. The exceptions are listed buildings, conservation areas, protected landscapes and arrays that stand proud of the roof. We check with Cornwall either way.

Has anyone near TR14 already done this?

The planning database records 2 ground mounted and 0 roof mounted solar schemes in this postcode district. That matters less as proof it works and more as evidence of how the local network has treated export applications. Roof arrays under a megawatt often never appear in the database, so the real figure is higher. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

Solar panels for farms in Camborne

Around Camborne the constraint is rarely the roof. It is the incoming supply and what the network will accept back. The survey starts on the covering: fibre cement or steel, its remaining life, the purlin spacing and what the frame will carry.

921 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 461,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Camborne

Drawing Camborne unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 461,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / TR14

Illustrative layout for a unit of this size. Your own figures come from the roof survey.

Camborne / Cornwall

South West pasture and farm buildings carrying rooftop solar — Industrial stock of the kind we survey across South West.

Solar for agricultural buildings across Cornwall

What a farm roof near Camborne generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1172 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 921 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 4 percent above the mean across the areas we cover, which is as strong as UK farm rooftop gets outside the south coast.

The planning record lists 2 ground mounted solar schemes in this postcode district, which is a fair guide to how the local network has treated field arrays. The typical consented scheme in this district is about 15.2 MW, with the largest at 30 MW. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

Surveys run across TR postcodes, TR14 outward.

Cornwall is the planning authority for most holdings here, and it is the authority that decides whether an array on an agricultural building falls inside permitted development.

FIG. 1 What a Camborne roof makes, month by month

Jun produces 6.0 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 461,000 kWh across the year, but it arrives unevenly, which is why we size against your summer daytime load and then look at whether storage is worth adding for the shoulder months.

Monthly figures as a table

Month	kWh per kWp	500 kWp array
Jan	25	12,500
Feb	42	21,000
Mar	75	37,500
Apr	111	55,500
May	124	62,000
Jun	127	63,500
Jul	123	61,500
Aug	109	54,500
Sep	83	41,500
Oct	52	26,000
Nov	30	15,000
Dec	21	10,500

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Camborne against the rest of Cornwall

Penzance979
Falmouth943
Newquay940
Truro940
St Austell936
Bodmin929
Bude929
Camborne921

Camborne ranks 8 of 8 towns we cover in Cornwall on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 921 to 979, a spread of 58 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 29,000 kWh a year between the strongest and weakest town in the county.

Bars are zero based, so length is proportional to the figure. Where a county is flat, that is the finding: location is not the lever, consumption is. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, modelled per town

Grid connection through National Grid Electricity Distribution

Connections around Camborne are handled by National Grid Electricity Distribution, which sets the export limit for the site. Above 3.68 kW per phase the connection runs under G99, so the export limit is agreed in advance rather than assumed. Where the local network is constrained, an export-limited connection usually still makes the scheme work, because a farm uses most of what the roof makes during the working day.

Across Cornwall the planning database records 174 solar schemes totalling 1116 MW, of which 88 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

Solar already consented near TR14

From the government's Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026. These are the schemes on record in this postcode district, which is a fair guide to how the local network has been treating export applications.

Scheme	Operator	Capacity	Mounting	Status
Copper Bottom Solar Farm Ground-Mounted Solar PV Array	Aura Power Storage Solutions	30 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction
Tolvaddon Business Park, Pool - Solar Array	Undercover Group	0.43 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction

Book the survey

Send us the postcode

Tell us where the unit is and roughly how big the roof is. We come back with what it can carry, what it would generate against your consumption, and the three ways to pay for it.

Lenzie Consulting Ltd arranges the survey and passes your details to our MCS-certified installation partner so they can quote.

Questions about solar in Camborne

Is there enough sun around Camborne to make this work?: Modelled at 921 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 461,000 kWh a year before shading. That array needs about 1,485 sqm of clear roof once ridge vents and walkways are allowed for. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Who do we apply to for export near Camborne?: Only National Grid Electricity Distribution can answer it for your connection, and on rural feeders the answer varies farm to farm. An export-limited offer usually still works, because a holding with grain drying, cooling or ventilation uses most of what it makes.
Do we need planning permission in Cornwall?: In most cases no, because panels on the roof of an agricultural building usually sit within permitted development. The exceptions are listed buildings, conservation areas, protected landscapes and arrays that stand proud of the roof. We check with Cornwall either way.
Has anyone near TR14 already done this?: The planning database records 2 ground mounted and 0 roof mounted solar schemes in this postcode district. That matters less as proof it works and more as evidence of how the local network has treated export applications. Roof arrays under a megawatt often never appear in the database, so the real figure is higher. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

Nearby

All Cornwall locations