Is there enough sun around Dartford to make this work?

Modelled at 915 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 458,000 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 Dartford?

Only UK Power Networks 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 Dartford?

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 Dartford either way.

Has anyone near DA2 already done this?

The planning database records 0 ground mounted and 2 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 Dartford

Farm buildings around Dartford carry broad, shallow roofs that were put up for storage and stock, not for generation. The survey starts on the covering: fibre cement or steel, its remaining life, the purlin spacing and what the frame will carry.

915 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 458,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Dartford

Drawing Dartford unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 458,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / DA2

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

Dartford / Kent

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

Solar for agricultural buildings across Kent

What a farm roof near Dartford generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1175 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 915 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 3 percent above the mean across the areas we cover, which is as strong as UK farm rooftop gets outside the south coast.

2 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 Dartford is higher than the record shows.

Surveys run across DA postcodes, DA2 outward.

Dartford 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 Dartford roof makes, month by month

Jul produces 5.8 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 458,000 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	38	19,000
Mar	72	36,000
Apr	106	53,000
May	122	61,000
Jun	127	63,500
Jul	128	64,000
Aug	108	54,000
Sep	84	42,000
Oct	53	26,500
Nov	31	15,500
Dec	22	11,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Dartford against the rest of Kent

Dover972
Canterbury961
Maidstone930
Tunbridge Wells930
Tonbridge927
Gravesend926
Chatham920
Sevenoaks920
Dartford915

Dartford ranks 12 of 12 towns we cover in Kent on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 915 to 990, a spread of 75 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 37,500 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 DA2

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
Princes Road - Solar Panels	Auditel Limited	0.15 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Riverbridge House, Admirals Park - Solar Panels	PCP IV Alpha Limited	0.27 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

Grid connection through UK Power Networks

UK Power Networks operates the distribution network across Kent, 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 Kent the planning database records 237 solar schemes totalling 2072 MW, of which 45 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 Dartford

Is there enough sun around Dartford to make this work?: Modelled at 915 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 458,000 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 Dartford?: Only UK Power Networks 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 Dartford?: 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 Dartford either way.
Has anyone near DA2 already done this?: The planning database records 0 ground mounted and 2 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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