How much does a farm roof near Cirencester generate?

The model gives 892 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 446,000 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 Cirencester take the export?

National Grid Electricity Distribution is the distribution network operator for Gloucestershire. 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 Cirencester?

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 Cotswold before design sign-off.

Has anyone near GL7 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 Cirencester

A Cirencester 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.

892 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 446,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Cirencester

Drawing Cirencester unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 446,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / GL7

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

Cirencester / Gloucestershire

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

Farm building solar PV across Gloucestershire

What a farm roof near Cirencester generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1142 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 892 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 21.5 MW, with the largest at 49.9 MW. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

We survey holdings across the GL postcode area, starting from GL7.

Cotswold 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 Cirencester roof makes, month by month

Jul produces 6.3 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 446,000 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	24	12,000
Feb	38	19,000
Mar	73	36,500
Apr	104	52,000
May	120	60,000
Jun	123	61,500
Jul	125	62,500
Aug	103	51,500
Sep	81	40,500
Oct	50	25,000
Nov	30	15,000
Dec	20	10,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Cirencester against the rest of Gloucestershire

Lydney905
Cirencester892
Stroud887
Cheltenham879
Tewkesbury878
Gloucester870

Cirencester ranks 2 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 GL7

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
Kencot Hill Solar Farm	Foresight Solar Fund Limited	37 MW	Ground	Operational
Cirencester Solar Farm	Warrington Borough Council / Statkraft	23 MW	Ground	Operational
Duke Of Gloucester Barracks	Ministry of Defence	1.4 MW	Ground	Operational
Kemble Wick	Aura Power	49.9 MW	Ground	Operational
Siddington Solar Farm	Gresham House / Anesco Limited	19.94 MW	Ground	Under Construction
Welsh Way - Solar PV Farm	Innova Renewables	13 MW	Ground	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 Cirencester

How much does a farm roof near Cirencester generate?: The model gives 892 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 446,000 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 Cirencester take the export?: National Grid Electricity Distribution is the distribution network operator for Gloucestershire. 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 Cirencester?: 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 Cotswold before design sign-off.
Has anyone near GL7 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.

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