Solar panels for farms in Coalville
Around Coalville the constraint is rarely the roof. It is the incoming supply and what the network will accept back. 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.
863 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 432,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Book a roof survey in CoalvilleIllustrative layout for a unit of this size. Your own figures come from the roof survey.
Agricultural rooftop solar across Leicestershire
What a farm roof near Coalville generates
Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1100 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 863 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 3 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 4.9 MW, with the largest at 5 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 Coalville is higher than the record shows.
Most of the buildings we look at here sit in the LE postcode area.
North West Leicestershire 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.
Coalville ranks 7 of 7 towns we cover in Leicestershire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 863 to 891, a spread of 28 kWh per kWp. Within Leicestershire that difference is small enough to ignore: where the building sits is not what decides this scheme, your consumption pattern is.
Grid connection through National Grid Electricity Distribution
National Grid Electricity Distribution is the network operator here, and their answer on export capacity shapes the design. Any commercial array above 3.68 kW per phase connects under G99 rather than G98, and the application fixes what you are allowed to push back onto the network. If the local network is tight, limiting export rarely breaks the case here: most of the generation is consumed on site while the building is working.
Across Leicestershire the planning database records 165 solar schemes totalling 1259 MW, of which 37 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).
Solar already consented near LE67
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower Hayes Farm | Elgar Middleton | 5 MW | Ground | Operational |
| Thornton Lane | Green Hedge (BayWa r.e.) | 2.7 MW | Ground | Operational |
| Amazon - BHX2 | Amazon UK Services / Push Energy | 3.7 MW | Roof | Planning Permission Expired |
| Pretoria Road | Lightsource BP | 4.9 MW | Ground | Operational |
| West Lane, Bardon Hill - Solar PV System | BeBa Energy UK Limited | 0.61 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Morrisons, Whitwick Road - Solar Panels | WM Morrisons Supermarkets Plc | 0.75 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
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 Coalville
- Is there enough sun around Coalville to make this work?
- Modelled at 863 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 432,000 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 Coalville?
- 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 North West Leicestershire?
- 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 North West Leicestershire either way.
- Has anyone near LE67 already done this?
- The planning database records 3 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.