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Solar panels for farms in Eastbourne

Around Eastbourne the constraint is rarely the roof. It is the incoming supply and what the network will accept back. 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.

1017 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 509,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

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96 m phase 1
Drawing Eastbourne unit
Roof 96 x 62 m
Array 500 kWp
Yield 509,000 kWh/yr
Scale 1:500 / Rev A / BN22

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

Eastbourne / 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 Eastbourne generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1283 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 1017 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 15 percent above the mean across the areas we cover, which is as strong as UK farm rooftop gets outside the south coast.

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 Eastbourne is higher than the record shows.

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

Eastbourne 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 Eastbourne roof makes, month by month

What a Eastbourne roof makes, month by month

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

050100Jan: 26 kWh per kWpJanFeb: 42 kWh per kWpFebMar: 81 kWh per kWpMarApr: 119 kWh per kWpAprMay: 136 kWh per kWpMayJun: 146 kWh per kWpJun146 kWh Jul: 145 kWh per kWpJulAug: 121 kWh per kWpAugSep: 91 kWh per kWpSepOct: 56 kWh per kWpOctNov: 30 kWh per kWpNovDec: 23 kWh per kWpDec

Jun produces 6.3 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 509,000 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
Jan2613,000
Feb4221,000
Mar8140,500
Apr11959,500
May13668,000
Jun14673,000
Jul14572,500
Aug12160,500
Sep9145,500
Oct5628,000
Nov3015,000
Dec2311,500
Source: EU PVGIS v5.2
FIG. 2 Eastbourne against the rest of Sussex
  • Chichester1028
  • Lewes1028
  • Eastbourne1017
  • Brighton1015
  • Bognor Regis1000
  • Worthing999
  • Hastings989
  • Haywards Heath957
  • Horsham935

Eastbourne ranks 3 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 BN22

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
Marshall Road - Solar Panels Zestec Asset Management 0.2 MW Roof Awaiting Construction
The David Lloyd Centre - Solar Panels David Lloyd Leisure Limited 0.38 MW Roof Application Submitted
Broadwater Way - Solar Panels Sainsburys Supermarkets Limited 0.56 MW Roof Application Submitted
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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 Eastbourne

What would a 500 kWp array produce on a farm near Eastbourne?
Yes, and the figure matters more than the sunshine. At 1017 kWh per kWp a year, a 500 kWp array on a Eastbourne holding models at around 509,000 kWh. What changes the answer is how much of that the farm uses itself. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
What does Eastbourne require for solar on an agricultural building?
Roof-mounted panels on an agricultural building often fall under permitted development, subject to limits on projection above the roof plane and to the building not being listed or in a conservation area or National Park. We confirm the position with Eastbourne before the design is finalised.
Has anyone near BN22 already done this?
The planning database records 0 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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