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Solar panels for farms in Wellingborough

A Wellingborough 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.

896 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 448,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

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96 m phase 1
Drawing Wellingborough unit
Roof 96 x 62 m
Array 500 kWp
Yield 448,000 kWh/yr
Scale 1:500 / Rev A / NN8

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

Wellingborough / Northamptonshire
Midlands arable farmland with solar on farm building roofs
Industrial stock of the kind we survey across East Midlands.

Farm building solar PV across Northamptonshire

What a farm roof near Wellingborough generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1145 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 896 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 1 ground mounted solar scheme 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 10 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 Wellingborough is higher than the record shows.

We survey holdings across the NN postcode area, starting from NN8.

North Northamptonshire 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 Wellingborough roof makes, month by month

What a Wellingborough roof makes, month by month

Modelled output per kWp installed, for a shallow-pitched south-facing array. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2.

050100Jan: 24 kWh per kWpJanFeb: 39 kWh per kWpFebMar: 73 kWh per kWpMarApr: 103 kWh per kWpAprMay: 121 kWh per kWpMayJun: 122 kWh per kWpJunJul: 124 kWh per kWpJul124 kWh Aug: 106 kWh per kWpAugSep: 82 kWh per kWpSepOct: 51 kWh per kWpOctNov: 30 kWh per kWpNovDec: 21 kWh per kWpDec

Jul produces 5.9 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 448,000 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
MonthkWh per kWp500 kWp array
Jan2412,000
Feb3919,500
Mar7336,500
Apr10351,500
May12160,500
Jun12261,000
Jul12462,000
Aug10653,000
Sep8241,000
Oct5125,500
Nov3015,000
Dec2110,500
Source: EU PVGIS v5.2
FIG. 2 Wellingborough against the rest of Northamptonshire
  • Rushden900
  • Towcester897
  • Wellingborough896
  • Kettering895
  • Northampton893
  • Corby892
  • Daventry890

Wellingborough ranks 3 of 7 towns we cover in Northamptonshire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 890 to 900, a spread of 10 kWh per kWp. Within Northamptonshire 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

Solar already consented near NN8

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
Huxley Close - Solar PV System Eterna Lighting 0.18 MW Roof Awaiting Construction
Quarry, Ditchford Lane - Solar Farm Novus Renewable Services 10 MW Ground Application Submitted
Sainsburys Store And Petrol, Northampton Road - Solar Panels Sainsburys Supermarkets Limited 0.24 MW Roof Awaiting Construction
Claudius Way - Solar Panels Unknown 0.8 MW Roof Awaiting Construction

Grid connection through National Grid Electricity Distribution

Connections around Wellingborough are handled by National Grid Electricity Distribution, 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 Northamptonshire the planning database records 133 solar schemes totalling 1932 MW, of which 25 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

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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.

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Questions about solar in Wellingborough

Is there enough sun around Wellingborough to make this work?
Modelled at 896 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 448,000 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 Wellingborough?
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 Northamptonshire?
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 Northamptonshire either way.
Has anyone near NN8 already done this?
The planning database records 1 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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