Is there enough sun around Thame to make this work?

Modelled at 891 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 446,000 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 Thame?

Only Scottish and Southern Electricity 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 South Oxfordshire?

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 South Oxfordshire either way.

Has anyone near OX9 already done this?

The planning database records 6 ground mounted and 0 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 Thame

Most holdings around Thame already own the best generating site they will ever have, and it is the roof of the shed they built for something else. 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.

891 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 446,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Thame

Drawing Thame unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 446,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / OX9

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

Thame / Oxfordshire

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

Farm building solar PV across Oxfordshire

What a farm roof near Thame generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1142 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 891 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 6 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 49.9 MW. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

We survey holdings across the OX postcode area, starting from OX9.

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.

FIG. 1 What a Thame roof makes, month by month

Jun produces 6.2 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 446,000 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	24	12,000
Feb	38	19,000
Mar	73	36,500
Apr	104	52,000
May	119	59,500
Jun	124	62,000
Jul	124	62,000
Aug	103	51,500
Sep	82	41,000
Oct	51	25,500
Nov	29	14,500
Dec	20	10,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Thame against the rest of Oxfordshire

Didcot913
Abingdon904
Witney902
Henley-on-Thames899
Oxford895
Bicester895
Banbury891
Thame891

Thame ranks 8 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.

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

Grid connection through Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks 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 Oxfordshire the planning database records 149 solar schemes totalling 2544 MW, of which 31 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

Solar already consented near OX9

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
Thame solar farm	Big 60 Million	4.3 MW	Ground	Operational
The Oxfordshire Golf Club	The Oxfordshire Golf Club	0.3 MW	Ground	Operational
Cornwell Solar Farm	Low Carbon / EDF Energy Renewables	49.9 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction
Harlesford Solar Farm	Harlesford Solar Farm Limited	49.9 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction
Dodwells Solar Farm	Opdenergy UK Limited	49.9 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction
Postcombe - Solar Array	Solar 2 Limited	49.9 MW	Ground	Application Submitted

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 Thame

Is there enough sun around Thame to make this work?: Modelled at 891 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 446,000 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 Thame?: Only Scottish and Southern Electricity 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 South Oxfordshire?: 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 South Oxfordshire either way.
Has anyone near OX9 already done this?: The planning database records 6 ground mounted and 0 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.

Nearby

All Oxfordshire locations