Is there enough sun around Crawley to make this work?

Modelled at 915 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 458,000 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 Crawley?

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 Crawley either way.

Has anyone near RH10 already done this?

The planning database records 1 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.

Solar panels for farms in Crawley

A Crawley farm buys electricity at the worst rate of the day in exactly the hours its roof could be generating. 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.

915 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 458,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

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Drawing Crawley unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 458,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / RH10

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

Crawley / 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 Crawley generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1175 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 915 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 3 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 1 ground mounted solar scheme 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 1.1 MW. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

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 Crawley is higher than the record shows.

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

Crawley 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 Crawley 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 458,000 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	106	53,000
May	121	60,500
Jun	128	64,000
Jul	128	64,000
Aug	107	53,500
Sep	84	42,000
Oct	51	25,500
Nov	31	15,500
Dec	22	11,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Crawley against the rest of Sussex

Lewes1028
Eastbourne1017
Brighton1015
Bognor Regis1000
Worthing999
Hastings989
Haywards Heath957
Horsham935
Crawley915

Crawley ranks 10 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 RH10

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
Majors Hill/Turners Hill Solar Farm	Haymaker Energy	1.1 MW	Ground	Operational
Oriel High School	West Sussex County Council	0.19 MW	Roof	Operational
Manor Royal, Rowfant - Solar PV Array	Vodafone Limited	0.27 MW	Roof	Application Withdrawn
Unit 2, Hollywood Bowl, Crawley Leisure Park - Solar Array	Hollywood Bowl Group	0.22 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Welland Medical, Hydehurst Lane - Solar Panels	Welland Medical Limited	0.94 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Vodafone UK, Newton Road - Solar Panels	Custom Solar Limited	0.27 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 Crawley

Is there enough sun around Crawley to make this work?: Modelled at 915 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 458,000 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 Crawley?: 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 Crawley either way.
Has anyone near RH10 already done this?: The planning database records 1 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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