Is there enough sun around Cheltenham to make this work?

Modelled at 879 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 440,000 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 Cheltenham?

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 Cheltenham?

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 Cheltenham either way.

Has anyone near GL50 already done this?

The planning database records 0 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 Cheltenham

Most holdings around Cheltenham already own the best generating site they will ever have, and it is the roof of the shed they built for something else. 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.

879 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 440,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Cheltenham

Drawing Cheltenham unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 440,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / GL50

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

Cheltenham / Gloucestershire

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

Agricultural rooftop solar across Gloucestershire

What a farm roof near Cheltenham generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1124 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 879 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.

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 Cheltenham is higher than the record shows.

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

Cheltenham 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 Cheltenham roof makes, month by month

Jul produces 6.2 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 440,000 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	23	11,500
Feb	37	18,500
Mar	72	36,000
Apr	103	51,500
May	119	59,500
Jun	122	61,000
Jul	123	61,500
Aug	102	51,000
Sep	80	40,000
Oct	49	24,500
Nov	29	14,500
Dec	20	10,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Cheltenham against the rest of Gloucestershire

Lydney905
Cirencester892
Stroud887
Cheltenham879
Tewkesbury878
Gloucester870

Cheltenham ranks 4 of 6 towns we cover in Gloucestershire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 870 to 905, a spread of 35 kWh per kWp. Within Gloucestershire that difference is small enough to ignore: where the building sits is not what decides this scheme, your consumption pattern is.

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 Gloucestershire, 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 Gloucestershire the planning database records 207 solar schemes totalling 1592 MW, of which 39 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

Solar already consented near GL50

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
Sandfields Care Home, St Georges Road - Solar PV Panels	Sandfields Care Home	0.15 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
St Pauls Medical Centre, Swindon Road - Solar Panels	St Pauls Medical Centre	0.16 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Ladies College Swimming Pool, Malvern Road - Solar Panels	Ladies College Swimming Pool	0.16 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

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 Cheltenham

Is there enough sun around Cheltenham to make this work?: Modelled at 879 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 440,000 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 Cheltenham?: 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 Cheltenham?: 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 Cheltenham either way.
Has anyone near GL50 already done this?: The planning database records 0 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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