Solar panels for farms in Southampton
A Southampton farm buys electricity at the worst rate of the day in exactly the hours its roof could be generating. 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.
950 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 475,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Book a roof survey in SouthamptonIllustrative layout for a unit of this size. Your own figures come from the roof survey.
Agricultural rooftop solar across Hampshire
What a farm roof near Southampton generates
Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1221 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 950 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 7 percent above the mean across the areas we cover, which is as strong as UK farm rooftop gets outside the south coast.
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 Southampton is higher than the record shows.
Most of the buildings we look at here sit in the SO postcode area.
Southampton 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.
Southampton ranks 3 of 10 towns we cover in Hampshire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 903 to 987, a spread of 84 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 42,000 kWh a year between the strongest and weakest town in the county.
Solar already consented near SO17
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grosvenor House & Belmont House, Portswood Road - Solar Panels | Nanopro-Tech | 0.16 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
Grid connection through Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks
Connections around Southampton are handled by Scottish and Southern Electricity 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 Hampshire the planning database records 237 solar schemes totalling 1634 MW, of which 51 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).
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 Southampton
- How much does a farm roof near Southampton generate?
- The model gives 950 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 475,000 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 Southampton take the export?
- Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks is the distribution network operator for Hampshire. 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 Southampton?
- 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 Southampton before design sign-off.