How much does a farm roof near Stowmarket generate?

The model gives 922 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 461,000 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 Stowmarket 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 Stowmarket?

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 Mid Suffolk before design sign-off.

Has anyone near IP14 already done this?

The planning database records 2 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.

Solar panels for farms in Stowmarket

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

922 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 461,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

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Drawing Stowmarket unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 461,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / IP14

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

Stowmarket / Suffolk

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

Farm building solar PV across Suffolk

What a farm roof near Stowmarket generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1180 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 922 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 4 percent above the mean across the areas we cover, which is as strong as UK farm rooftop gets outside the south coast.

The planning record lists 2 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 15.6 MW, with the largest at 30 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 Stowmarket is higher than the record shows.

We survey holdings across the IP postcode area, starting from IP14.

Mid 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 Stowmarket roof makes, month by month

Jun produces 6.0 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 461,000 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	109	54,500
May	124	62,000
Jun	127	63,500
Jul	126	63,000
Aug	109	54,500
Sep	85	42,500
Oct	53	26,500
Nov	31	15,500
Dec	21	10,500

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Stowmarket against the rest of Suffolk

Leiston956
Felixstowe950
Lowestoft938
Ipswich933
Sudbury923
Stowmarket922
Bury St Edmunds912
Newmarket905

Stowmarket ranks 6 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

Grid connection through UK Power Networks

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

Solar already consented near IP14

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
Gainsborough Road Car Park - Solar PV arrays	Babergh & Mid Suffolk DC	0.19 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Blacksmiths Lane, Middlewood Green - Solar Farm	Low Carbon Limited	30 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction
PPG Letter, Needham Road - Solar Pv Panels	PPG Industries	0.5 MW	Roof	Application Refused
Climax Molybdenum UK Limited, Needham Road - Solar PV Panels	Climax Molybdenum UK Ltd	1.2 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction
PPG, Letter Site - Solar Panels	PPG Industries (UK) Limited	0.43 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

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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 Stowmarket

How much does a farm roof near Stowmarket generate?: The model gives 922 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 461,000 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 Stowmarket 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 Stowmarket?: 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 Mid Suffolk before design sign-off.
Has anyone near IP14 already done this?: The planning database records 2 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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