Solar panels for farms in Newquay
Around Newquay the constraint is rarely the roof. It is the incoming supply and what the network will accept back. What decides a farm scheme here is the state of the roof sheets and the incoming supply, which is why the survey looks at both before anyone sizes an array.
940 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 470,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Book a roof survey in NewquayIllustrative layout for a unit of this size. Your own figures come from the roof survey.
Agricultural rooftop solar across Cornwall
What a farm roof near Newquay generates
Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1194 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 940 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 6 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 1 ground mounted solar scheme 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 0.2 MW. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.
1 roof mounted scheme is on record nearby. Roof arrays under a megawatt frequently never reach that database at all, so the real number of farm roofs generating around Newquay is higher than the record shows.
Most of the buildings we look at here sit in the TR postcode area.
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.
Newquay ranks 3 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.
Solar already consented near TR7
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treloggan Road - Solar Panels | WM Morrisons Supermarkets Plc | 0.37 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Headland Hotel, Headland Road - Solar Panels | The Headland Hotel | 0.18 MW | Ground | Application Refused |
Grid connection through National Grid Electricity Distribution
National Grid Electricity Distribution operates the distribution network across Cornwall, so the export application goes to them. Anything larger than 3.68 kW per phase falls under G99, which means an application before commissioning rather than a notification afterwards. A constrained network is not the end of a scheme. Capping export costs little when the building already absorbs most of what the roof produces.
Across Cornwall the planning database records 174 solar schemes totalling 1116 MW, of which 88 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).
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 Newquay
- How much does a farm roof near Newquay generate?
- The model gives 940 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 470,000 kWh a year before shading losses. A building of roughly 1,485 sqm of clear roof carries it. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
- Will the rural network around Newquay take the export?
- National Grid Electricity Distribution is the distribution network operator for Cornwall. Anything above 3.68 kW per phase connects under G99, and the application sets the export limit. Rural supplies are often the binding constraint, so we ask the question before an array is sized.
- Is planning permission needed for panels on a farm building near Newquay?
- Usually permitted development covers a roof array. Ground mounted arrays are a different question and are far more likely to need a full application. We put both to Cornwall before design sign-off.
- Has anyone near TR7 already done this?
- The planning database records 1 ground mounted and 1 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.