What would a 500 kWp array produce on a farm near Bath?

Yes, and the figure matters more than the sunshine. At 904 kWh per kWp a year, a 500 kWp array on a Bath holding models at around 452,000 kWh. What changes the answer is how much of that the farm uses itself. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Which network operator handles the connection around Bath?

Applications go to National Grid Electricity Distribution, who run the network across Somerset. On a farm the incoming supply matters as much as their answer: a single phase supply caps what can be installed whatever the roof would take.

What does Bath and North East Somerset require for solar on an agricultural building?

Roof-mounted panels on an agricultural building often fall under permitted development, subject to limits on projection above the roof plane and to the building not being listed or in a conservation area or National Park. We confirm the position with Bath and North East Somerset before the design is finalised.

Has anyone near BA1 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 Bath

Most holdings around Bath 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.

904 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 452,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Bath

Drawing Bath unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 452,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / BA1

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

Bath / Somerset

South West pasture and farm buildings carrying rooftop solar — Industrial stock of the kind we survey across South West.

Farm building solar PV across Somerset

What a farm roof near Bath generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1156 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 904 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.

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 Bath is higher than the record shows.

We survey holdings across the BA postcode area, starting from BA1.

Bath and North East Somerset 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 Bath roof makes, month by month

Jul produces 6.0 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 452,000 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	39	19,500
Mar	74	37,000
Apr	105	52,500
May	122	61,000
Jun	123	61,500
Jul	126	63,000
Aug	105	52,500
Sep	82	41,000
Oct	51	25,500
Nov	30	15,000
Dec	21	10,500

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Bath against the rest of Somerset

Weston-super-Mare934
Bridgwater931
Yeovil923
Glastonbury913
Taunton911
Bath904
Wells899
Frome894

Bath ranks 6 of 8 towns we cover in Somerset on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 894 to 934, a spread of 40 kWh per kWp. Within Somerset 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 National Grid Electricity Distribution

Connections around Bath 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 Somerset the planning database records 223 solar schemes totalling 1574 MW, of which 79 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

Solar already consented near BA1

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
Royal United Hospital, Combe Park - Solar Panels	Royal United Hospital NHS Trust	0.31 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
LiveWest Homes - Solar Panels	LiveWest Homes	n/a	Roof	Application Submitted

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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.

Questions about solar in Bath

What would a 500 kWp array produce on a farm near Bath?: Yes, and the figure matters more than the sunshine. At 904 kWh per kWp a year, a 500 kWp array on a Bath holding models at around 452,000 kWh. What changes the answer is how much of that the farm uses itself. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Which network operator handles the connection around Bath?: Applications go to National Grid Electricity Distribution, who run the network across Somerset. On a farm the incoming supply matters as much as their answer: a single phase supply caps what can be installed whatever the roof would take.
What does Bath and North East Somerset require for solar on an agricultural building?: Roof-mounted panels on an agricultural building often fall under permitted development, subject to limits on projection above the roof plane and to the building not being listed or in a conservation area or National Park. We confirm the position with Bath and North East Somerset before the design is finalised.
Has anyone near BA1 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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