Is there enough sun around Consett to make this work?

Modelled at 811 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 406,000 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 Consett?

Only Northern Powergrid 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 County Durham?

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 County Durham either way.

Has anyone near DH8 already done this?

The planning database records 1 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 Consett

Farm buildings around Consett carry broad, shallow roofs that were put up for storage and stock, not for generation. The survey starts on the covering: fibre cement or steel, its remaining life, the purlin spacing and what the frame will carry.

811 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 406,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Consett

Drawing Consett unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 406,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / DH8

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

Consett / County Durham

North East farmland with solar arrays on farm buildings — Industrial stock of the kind we survey across North East.

Solar for agricultural buildings across County Durham

What a farm roof near Consett generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1030 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 811 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is about 8 percent below the mean across the areas we cover, so the case here rests on using the output on the holding rather than exporting it.

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 40 MW. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

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 Consett is higher than the record shows.

Surveys run across DH postcodes, DH8 outward.

County Durham 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 Consett roof makes, month by month

May produces 7.8 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 406,000 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	18	9,000
Feb	34	17,000
Mar	66	33,000
Apr	97	48,500
May	117	58,500
Jun	110	55,000
Jul	115	57,500
Aug	99	49,500
Sep	74	37,000
Oct	42	21,000
Nov	24	12,000
Dec	15	7,500

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Consett against the rest of County Durham

Peterlee845
Durham823
Chester-le-Street821
Newton Aycliffe819
Bishop Auckland817
Consett811

Consett ranks 6 of 6 towns we cover in County Durham on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 811 to 845, a spread of 34 kWh per kWp. Within County Durham that difference is small enough to ignore: where the building sits is not what decides this scheme, your consumption pattern is.

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 DH8

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
Number One Industrial Estate - Solar PV system	Private Developer	0.32 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Number One Industrial Estate - Solar Panels	Gardner Aerospace	1.02 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Highfield Energy Park	Exagen	40 MW	Ground	Appeal Lodged
Derwentside Environmental Testing Servs Limited - Solar pv panels	Olympus Power	0.38 MW	Roof	Revised
Derwentside Environmental Testing Servs Limited - Solar pv panels	Olympus Power	0.38 MW	Roof	Operational

Grid connection through Northern Powergrid

Connections around Consett are handled by Northern Powergrid, 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 County Durham the planning database records 85 solar schemes totalling 1168 MW, of which 9 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 Consett

Is there enough sun around Consett to make this work?: Modelled at 811 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 406,000 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 Consett?: Only Northern Powergrid 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 County Durham?: 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 County Durham either way.
Has anyone near DH8 already done this?: The planning database records 1 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

All County Durham locations