Is there enough sun around Exmouth to make this work?

Modelled at 937 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 469,000 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 Exmouth?

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 East Devon?

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 East Devon either way.

Has anyone near EX8 already done this?

The planning database records 4 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.

Solar panels for farms in Exmouth

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

937 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 469,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Exmouth

Drawing Exmouth unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 469,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / EX8

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

Exmouth / Devon

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

Farm building solar PV across Devon

What a farm roof near Exmouth generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1200 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 937 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 4 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 4.9 MW, with the largest at 8 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 Exmouth is higher than the record shows.

We survey holdings across the EX postcode area, starting from EX8.

East Devon 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 Exmouth 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 469,000 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	41	20,500
Mar	76	38,000
Apr	110	55,000
May	127	63,500
Jun	129	64,500
Jul	129	64,500
Aug	110	55,000
Sep	85	42,500
Oct	52	26,000
Nov	31	15,500
Dec	22	11,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Exmouth against the rest of Devon

Paignton961
Plymouth960
Newton Abbot943
Exeter938
Torquay937
Exmouth937
Barnstaple908
Tiverton903

Exmouth ranks 6 of 8 towns we cover in Devon on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 903 to 961, 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 EX8

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
Liverton Farm	Clinton Devon Estates	4.8 MW	Ground	Operational
Bystock Solar Farm	Lightsource Renewable Energy	4.1 MW	Ground	Operational
Coombe Farm	Renewable Energy Systems Ltd (RES)	8 MW	Ground	Operational
Veiges Farm Solar Park	Inazin (Veiges Farm Solar Park Ltd)	5 MW	Ground	Abandoned
Devon Cliffs Holiday Centre, Sandy Bay - Solar panels	Bourne Leisure Group	0.51 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

Grid connection through National Grid Electricity Distribution

National Grid Electricity Distribution is the network operator here, and their answer on export capacity shapes the design. Any commercial array above 3.68 kW per phase connects under G99 rather than G98, and the application fixes what you are allowed to push back onto the network. If the local network is tight, limiting export rarely breaks the case here: most of the generation is consumed on site while the building is working.

Across Devon the planning database records 248 solar schemes totalling 1451 MW, of which 90 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 Exmouth

Is there enough sun around Exmouth to make this work?: Modelled at 937 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 469,000 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 Exmouth?: 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 East Devon?: 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 East Devon either way.
Has anyone near EX8 already done this?: The planning database records 4 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.

Nearby

All Devon locations