How much does a farm roof near Harlow generate?

The model gives 908 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 454,000 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 Harlow 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 Harlow?

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 Harlow before design sign-off.

Has anyone near CM20 already done this?

The planning database records 1 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 Harlow

A Harlow 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.

908 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 454,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Harlow

Drawing Harlow unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 454,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / CM20

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

Harlow / 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 Harlow generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1164 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 908 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 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 0.2 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 Harlow is higher than the record shows.

Surveys run across CM postcodes, CM20 outward.

Harlow 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 Harlow roof makes, month by month

Jul produces 5.7 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 454,000 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	39	19,500
Mar	74	37,000
Apr	105	52,500
May	120	60,000
Jun	125	62,500
Jul	126	63,000
Aug	107	53,500
Sep	84	42,000
Oct	52	26,000
Nov	30	15,000
Dec	22	11,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Harlow against the rest of Essex

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

Harlow ranks 10 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

Grid connection through UK Power Networks

Connections around Harlow are handled by UK Power Networks, 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 Essex the planning database records 221 solar schemes totalling 2787 MW, of which 46 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

Solar already consented near CM20

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
Gates Of Harlow, Edinburgh Way - Solar Panels	Unknown	0.16 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction
Calder House, Central Road - Solar Panels	Nuveen Real Estate	0.36 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Harlow Leisurezone, Second Avenue - Solar panels	Harlow Leisurezone	0.7 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Edinburgh Way - Solar Panels	Indurent Propco A1 Limited	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 Harlow

How much does a farm roof near Harlow generate?: The model gives 908 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 454,000 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 Harlow 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 Harlow?: 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 Harlow before design sign-off.
Has anyone near CM20 already done this?: The planning database records 1 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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