Is there enough sun around Sudbury to make this work?

Modelled at 923 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 462,000 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 Sudbury?

Only UK Power 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 Braintree?

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 Braintree either way.

Has anyone near CO10 already done this?

The planning database records 5 ground mounted and 1 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 Sudbury

Farm buildings around Sudbury 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.

923 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 462,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Sudbury

Drawing Sudbury unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 462,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / CO10

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

Sudbury / 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 Sudbury 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 923 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 5 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 24 MW, with the largest at 49.99 MW. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

1 roof mounted scheme is on record nearby. Roof arrays under a megawatt frequently never reach that database at all, so the real number of farm roofs generating around Sudbury is higher than the record shows.

We survey holdings across the CO postcode area, starting from CO10.

Braintree 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 Sudbury roof makes, month by month

Jun produces 5.8 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 462,000 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	75	37,500
Apr	109	54,500
May	123	61,500
Jun	127	63,500
Jul	126	63,000
Aug	108	54,000
Sep	85	42,500
Oct	53	26,500
Nov	31	15,500
Dec	22	11,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Sudbury against the rest of Suffolk

Leiston956
Felixstowe950
Lowestoft938
Ipswich933
Sudbury923
Stowmarket922
Bury St Edmunds912
Newmarket905

Sudbury ranks 5 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 CO10

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
Rogers Farm	Sun & Soil	15 MW	Ground	Appeal Refused
Pentlow Hill	Nextpower SPV 11 Limited	24 MW	Ground	Operational
Cutbush Farm, Belchamp St Paul - Solar Array	British Solar Renewables	49.99 MW	Ground	Under Construction
Northern Road, Chilton Industrial Estate - Solar Park	JCS Hi-Torque Limited	0.69 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction
Water Hall Farm, Waterhall Road - Solar Farm	Bluefield Renewable Developments Limited	35 MW	Ground	Awaiting Construction
Brundon Lane - Solar Panels	ASR Limited	0.27 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

Grid connection through UK Power Networks

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

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 Sudbury

Is there enough sun around Sudbury to make this work?: Modelled at 923 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 462,000 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 Sudbury?: Only UK Power 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 Braintree?: 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 Braintree either way.
Has anyone near CO10 already done this?: The planning database records 5 ground mounted and 1 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

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