Is there enough sun around Tiverton to make this work?

Modelled at 903 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 452,000 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 Tiverton?

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 Mid 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 Mid Devon either way.

Has anyone near EX16 already done this?

The planning database records 6 ground mounted and 0 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 Tiverton

Around Tiverton the constraint is rarely the roof. It is the incoming supply and what the network will accept back. The survey starts on the covering: fibre cement or steel, its remaining life, the purlin spacing and what the frame will carry.

903 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 452,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Tiverton

Drawing Tiverton unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 452,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / EX16

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

Tiverton / Devon

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

Solar for agricultural buildings across Devon

What a farm roof near Tiverton generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1152 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 903 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That sits within a few percent of the mean across the areas we cover, so what decides the scheme is your own demand pattern rather than the latitude.

The planning record lists 6 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 3.1 MW, with the largest at 6.3 MW. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

Surveys run across EX postcodes, EX16 outward.

Mid 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 Tiverton 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 452,000 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	75	37,500
Apr	108	54,000
May	122	61,000
Jun	123	61,500
Jul	123	61,500
Aug	103	51,500
Sep	82	41,000
Oct	51	25,500
Nov	30	15,000
Dec	21	10,500

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Tiverton against the rest of Devon

Paignton961
Plymouth960
Newton Abbot943
Exeter938
Torquay937
Exmouth937
Barnstaple908
Tiverton903

Tiverton ranks 8 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

Grid connection through National Grid Electricity Distribution

National Grid Electricity Distribution operates the distribution network across Devon, 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 Devon the planning database records 248 solar schemes totalling 1451 MW, of which 90 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

Solar already consented near EX16

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
West Bradley Farm	Lightsource Renewable Energy	1.5 MW	Ground	Operational
Barton Solar Farm	Lightsource Renewable Energy	1.2 MW	Ground	Operational
Blatchworthy Farm	Lightsource Renewable Energy	1.5 MW	Ground	Operational
Great Curham Farm	Solar Power Generation Ltd	6.3 MW	Ground	Revised
Keens Farm	juwi Renewable Energies	5.1 MW	Ground	Appeal Refused
Red Hill Farm	Lightsource Renewable Energy	4.8 MW	Ground	Operational

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 Tiverton

Is there enough sun around Tiverton to make this work?: Modelled at 903 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 452,000 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 Tiverton?: 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 Mid 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 Mid Devon either way.
Has anyone near EX16 already done this?: The planning database records 6 ground mounted and 0 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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