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Solar panels for farms in Felixstowe

Farm buildings around Felixstowe carry broad, shallow roofs that were put up for storage and stock, not for generation. 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.

950 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 475,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

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96 m phase 1
Drawing Felixstowe unit
Roof 96 x 62 m
Array 500 kWp
Yield 475,000 kWh/yr
Scale 1:500 / Rev A / IP11

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

Felixstowe / Suffolk
Eastern arable farmland with solar arrays on farm buildings
Industrial stock of the kind we survey across East of England.

Agricultural rooftop solar across Suffolk

What a farm roof near Felixstowe generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1212 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 950 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 7 percent above the mean across the areas we cover, which is as strong as UK farm rooftop gets outside the south coast.

5 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 Felixstowe is higher than the record shows.

Most of the buildings we look at here sit in the IP postcode area.

East Suffolk 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 Felixstowe roof makes, month by month

What a Felixstowe roof makes, month by month

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

050100Jan: 25 kWh per kWpJanFeb: 39 kWh per kWpFebMar: 75 kWh per kWpMarApr: 113 kWh per kWpAprMay: 130 kWh per kWpMayJun: 133 kWh per kWpJun133 kWh Jul: 133 kWh per kWpJulAug: 111 kWh per kWpAugSep: 87 kWh per kWpSepOct: 53 kWh per kWpOctNov: 31 kWh per kWpNovDec: 21 kWh per kWpDec

Jun produces 6.3 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 475,000 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
Jan2512,500
Feb3919,500
Mar7537,500
Apr11356,500
May13065,000
Jun13366,500
Jul13366,500
Aug11155,500
Sep8743,500
Oct5326,500
Nov3115,500
Dec2110,500
Source: EU PVGIS v5.2
FIG. 2 Felixstowe against the rest of Suffolk
  • Leiston956
  • Felixstowe950
  • Lowestoft938
  • Ipswich933
  • Sudbury923
  • Stowmarket922
  • Bury St Edmunds912
  • Newmarket905

Felixstowe ranks 2 of 8 towns we cover in Suffolk on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 905 to 956, a spread of 51 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 25,500 kWh a year between the strongest and weakest town in the county.

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 IP11

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
Clickett Hill Road, Trimley St Mary - Photo Voltaic Arrays Uniserve Holdings Limited 2.49 MW Roof Revised
Felixstowe Mega Distibution Centre - Photovoltaic Arrays Uniserve Group 2.49 MW Roof Awaiting Construction
Morrison Supermarket, Grange Farm Avenue - Solar Panels Gondola Pro 0.43 MW Roof Awaiting Construction
Felixstowe School, High Street - Solar Panels eEnergy 0.22 MW Roof Awaiting Construction
View Point Road - Solar Panels Home Office (Head Office) 0.21 MW Roof Application Submitted

Grid connection through UK Power Networks

Connections around Felixstowe are handled by UK Power Networks, 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 Suffolk the planning database records 118 solar schemes totalling 1369 MW, of which 23 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

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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 Felixstowe

How much does a farm roof near Felixstowe generate?
The model gives 950 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 475,000 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 Felixstowe take the export?
UK Power Networks is the distribution network operator for Suffolk. 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 Felixstowe?
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 East Suffolk before design sign-off.
Has anyone near IP11 already done this?
The planning database records 0 ground mounted and 5 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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