How much does a farm roof near Braintree generate?

The model gives 932 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 466,000 kWh a year before shading losses. A building of roughly 1,485 sqm of clear roof carries it. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Will the rural network around Braintree take the export?

UK Power Networks is the distribution network operator for Essex. Anything above 3.68 kW per phase connects under G99, and the application sets the export limit. Rural supplies are often the binding constraint, so we ask the question before an array is sized.

Is planning permission needed for panels on a farm building near Braintree?

Usually permitted development covers a roof array. Ground mounted arrays are a different question and are far more likely to need a full application. We put both to Braintree before design sign-off.

Has anyone near CM7 already done this?

The planning database records 3 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 Braintree

A Braintree farm buys electricity at the worst rate of the day in exactly the hours its roof could be generating. The survey starts on the covering: fibre cement or steel, its remaining life, the purlin spacing and what the frame will carry.

932 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 466,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

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Drawing Braintree unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 466,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / CM7

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

Braintree / Essex

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

Solar for agricultural buildings across Essex

What a farm roof near Braintree generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1191 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 932 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 5 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 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 0.3 MW, with the largest at 4.9 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 Braintree is higher than the record shows.

Surveys run across CM postcodes, CM7 outward.

Braintree 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 Braintree roof makes, month by month

Jun produces 5.8 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 466,000 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	40	20,000
Mar	75	37,500
Apr	109	54,500
May	125	62,500
Jun	128	64,000
Jul	128	64,000
Aug	109	54,500
Sep	86	43,000
Oct	54	27,000
Nov	32	16,000
Dec	22	11,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Braintree against the rest of Essex

Colchester953
Canvey Island945
Southend-on-Sea942
Basildon933
Braintree932
Chelmsford930
Grays927
Brentwood913
Harlow908

Braintree ranks 6 of 10 towns we cover in Essex on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 908 to 973, a spread of 65 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 32,500 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

Solar already consented near CM7

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
Land west of Hawkspur Green (Hill Hall Solar)	Lightsource Renewable Energy	4.9 MW	Ground	Operational
Four Elms Solar Array	F H Nash Limited	0.17 MW	Ground	Operational
Four Elms, Bardfield Road - Solar Array	F H Nash Limited	0.35 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction
Antislip Antiwear Treads International, Swinbourne Drive - Solar Panels	AATI Limited	0.15 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

Grid connection through UK Power Networks

UK Power Networks operates the distribution network across Essex, 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 Essex the planning database records 221 solar schemes totalling 2787 MW, of which 46 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 Braintree

How much does a farm roof near Braintree generate?: The model gives 932 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 466,000 kWh a year before shading losses. A building of roughly 1,485 sqm of clear roof carries it. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Will the rural network around Braintree take the export?: UK Power Networks is the distribution network operator for Essex. Anything above 3.68 kW per phase connects under G99, and the application sets the export limit. Rural supplies are often the binding constraint, so we ask the question before an array is sized.
Is planning permission needed for panels on a farm building near Braintree?: Usually permitted development covers a roof array. Ground mounted arrays are a different question and are far more likely to need a full application. We put both to Braintree before design sign-off.
Has anyone near CM7 already done this?: The planning database records 3 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.

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