Solar panels for farms in Didcot
A Didcot farm buys electricity at the worst rate of the day in exactly the hours its roof could be generating. The survey starts on the covering: fibre cement or steel, its remaining life, the purlin spacing and what the frame will carry.
913 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 457,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Book a roof survey in DidcotIllustrative layout for a unit of this size. Your own figures come from the roof survey.
Solar for agricultural buildings across Oxfordshire
What a farm roof near Didcot generates
Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1169 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 913 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.
6 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 Didcot is higher than the record shows.
Surveys run across OX postcodes, OX11 outward.
South Oxfordshire 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.
Didcot ranks 1 of 8 towns we cover in Oxfordshire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 891 to 913, a spread of 22 kWh per kWp. Within Oxfordshire that difference is small enough to ignore: where the building sits is not what decides this scheme, your consumption pattern is.
Grid connection through Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks operates the distribution network across Oxfordshire, 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 Oxfordshire the planning database records 149 solar schemes totalling 2544 MW, of which 31 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).
Solar already consented near OX11
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avon Road Car Park - Solar Photovoltaic Carport System | Science and Technology Facilities Council | 1.62 MW | Roof | Operational |
| South Car Park - Solar photovoltaic carport system | Science and Technology Facilities Council | n/a | Roof | Operational |
| Rutherford Appleton Laboratory | The Science and Technology Facilities Council | 1.6 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Building R8 & R9, Harwell - Solar Panels | Science & Technology Facilities Council | 0.26 MW | Roof | Application Withdrawn |
| Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Building R40, Harwell - Solar Panels | Science and Technology Facilities Council | 0.2 MW | Roof | Application Withdrawn |
| Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Building R1, Harwell - Solar Panels | Science and Technology Facilities Council | 0.42 MW | Roof | Application Withdrawn |
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 Didcot
- How much does a farm roof near Didcot generate?
- The model gives 913 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 457,000 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 Didcot take the export?
- Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks is the distribution network operator for Oxfordshire. 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 Didcot?
- 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 South Oxfordshire before design sign-off.
- Has anyone near OX11 already done this?
- The planning database records 0 ground mounted and 6 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.