Is there enough sun around Matlock to make this work?

Modelled at 844 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 422,000 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 Matlock?

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 Derbyshire Dales?

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 Derbyshire Dales either way.

Has anyone near DE4 already done this?

The planning database records 3 ground mounted and 3 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 Matlock

A Matlock farm buys electricity at the worst rate of the day in exactly the hours its roof could be generating. 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.

844 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 422,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Matlock

Drawing Matlock unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 422,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / DE4

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

Matlock / Derbyshire

Midlands arable farmland with solar on farm building roofs — Industrial stock of the kind we survey across East Midlands.

Agricultural rooftop solar across Derbyshire

What a farm roof near Matlock generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1076 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 844 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is about 5 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 3 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 4 MW, with the largest at 4.3 MW. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

3 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 Matlock is higher than the record shows.

Most of the buildings we look at here sit in the DE postcode area.

Derbyshire Dales 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 Matlock roof makes, month by month

May produces 6.9 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 422,000 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	21	10,500
Feb	35	17,500
Mar	70	35,000
Apr	98	49,000
May	118	59,000
Jun	115	57,500
Jul	118	59,000
Aug	102	51,000
Sep	77	38,500
Oct	46	23,000
Nov	26	13,000
Dec	17	8,500

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Matlock against the rest of Derbyshire

Long Eaton866
Derby862
Swadlincote856
Ilkeston855
Belper850
Matlock844
Chesterfield843
Buxton805

Matlock ranks 6 of 8 towns we cover in Derbyshire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 805 to 866, a spread of 61 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 30,500 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 Matlock 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 Derbyshire the planning database records 144 solar schemes totalling 904 MW, of which 27 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

Solar already consented near DE4

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
Williamthorpe Colliery	Derbyshire County Council	4 MW	Ground	Planning Permission Expired
Curzon Lodge Depot	Longcliffe Quarries	3.3 MW	Ground	Application Withdrawn
Brassington Works, Manystones Lane - Solar Farm	Hoben International Limited	4.3 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction
Sainsbury, Cawdor Way - Solar Panels	Sainsburys Supermarkets Limited	0.18 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Arc Leisure Centre, Bakewell Road - Solar Panels	Derbyshire Dales District Council	0.26 MW	Roof	Application Withdrawn
Anthony Gell School, Wood Street - Solar Panels	Private Developer	0.2 MW	Roof	Application Submitted

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 Matlock

Is there enough sun around Matlock to make this work?: Modelled at 844 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 422,000 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 Matlock?: 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 Derbyshire Dales?: 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 Derbyshire Dales either way.
Has anyone near DE4 already done this?: The planning database records 3 ground mounted and 3 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.

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