Is there enough sun around Chichester to make this work?

Modelled at 1028 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 514,000 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.

Do we need planning permission in Chichester?

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 Chichester either way.

Has anyone near PO19 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 Chichester

The case for solar on a Chichester holding turns on how much of the output the farm uses itself, not on how much the roof makes. 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.

1028 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 514,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Chichester

Drawing Chichester unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 514,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / PO19

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

Chichester / Sussex

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

Agricultural rooftop solar across Sussex

What a farm roof near Chichester generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1303 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 1028 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 16 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 8.4 MW, with the largest at 9.3 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 Chichester is higher than the record shows.

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

Chichester 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 Chichester 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 514,000 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	27	13,500
Feb	44	22,000
Mar	83	41,500
Apr	120	60,000
May	138	69,000
Jun	145	72,500
Jul	145	72,500
Aug	119	59,500
Sep	92	46,000
Oct	56	28,000
Nov	34	17,000
Dec	24	12,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Chichester against the rest of Sussex

Chichester1028
Lewes1028
Eastbourne1017
Brighton1015
Bognor Regis1000
Worthing999
Hastings989
Haywards Heath957
Horsham935

Chichester ranks 1 of 10 towns we cover in Sussex on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 915 to 1028, a spread of 113 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 56,500 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 PO19

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
Hunters Race Solar Park	Aardvark Environment Matters	9.3 MW	Ground	Operational
Former Westhampnett Landfill	West Sussex County Council	7.5 MW	Ground	Operational
Via Ravenna - Solar Panel	Chichester District Council	0.17 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Teknoflex, Quarry Lane - Solar Panels	Contract Candles	0.18 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Chichester College, Westgate Fields - Solar Panels	Green Nation Solar Energy	0.35 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

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 Chichester

Is there enough sun around Chichester to make this work?: Modelled at 1028 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 514,000 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.
Do we need planning permission in Chichester?: 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 Chichester either way.
Has anyone near PO19 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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