Is there enough sun around Truro to make this work?

Modelled at 940 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 470,000 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 Truro?

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 TR1 already done this?

The planning database records 0 ground mounted and 4 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 Truro

Farm buildings around Truro carry broad, shallow roofs that were put up for storage and stock, not for generation. Each survey records the sheet type and condition, the usable area once rooflights and vents come out, and whether the supply is single or three phase.

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 Truro

Drawing Truro unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 470,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / TR1

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

Truro / Cornwall

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

Farm building solar PV across Cornwall

What a farm roof near Truro 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.

4 roof mounted schemes are on record nearby. Roof arrays under a megawatt frequently never reach that database at all, so the real number of farm roofs generating around Truro is higher than the record shows.

We survey holdings across the TR postcode area, starting from TR1.

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 Truro roof makes, month by month

Jun produces 5.9 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 470,000 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	26	13,000
Feb	43	21,500
Mar	76	38,000
Apr	111	55,500
May	127	63,500
Jun	129	64,500
Jul	126	63,000
Aug	111	55,500
Sep	85	42,500
Oct	53	26,500
Nov	32	16,000
Dec	22	11,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Truro against the rest of Cornwall

Penzance979
Falmouth943
Newquay940
Truro940
St Austell936
Bodmin929
Bude929
Camborne921

Truro ranks 4 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

Solar already consented near TR1

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
Treyew Road - Solar Panels	Carbon Neutral Cornwall Team	0.33 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Sir Ben Ainslie Sports Centre, Trennick Lane - Solar Panels	Truro School	0.24 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Vospers, Treliske Retail Park - Solar Panels	Vospers Motor House Limited	n/a	Roof	Awaiting Construction
J Sainsbury, Treyew Road - Solar panels	Cornwall Council	0.44 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

Grid connection through National Grid Electricity Distribution

Connections around Truro 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).

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 Truro

Is there enough sun around Truro to make this work?: Modelled at 940 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 470,000 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 Truro?: 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 TR1 already done this?: The planning database records 0 ground mounted and 4 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

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