How much does a farm roof near Sunderland generate?

The model gives 849 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 425,000 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 Sunderland take the export?

Northern Powergrid is the distribution network operator for Tyne and Wear. 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 Sunderland?

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 Sunderland before design sign-off.

Has anyone near SR4 already done this?

The planning database records 0 ground mounted and 2 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 Sunderland

A Sunderland farm buys electricity at the worst rate of the day in exactly the hours its roof could be generating. The survey starts on the covering: fibre cement or steel, its remaining life, the purlin spacing and what the frame will carry.

849 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 425,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

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Drawing Sunderland unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 425,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / SR4

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

Sunderland / Tyne and Wear

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

Solar for agricultural buildings across Tyne and Wear

What a farm roof near Sunderland generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1080 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 849 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is about 4 percent below the mean across the areas we cover, so the case here rests on using the output on the holding rather than exporting it.

2 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 Sunderland is higher than the record shows.

Surveys run across SR postcodes, SR4 outward.

Sunderland 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 Sunderland roof makes, month by month

May produces 7.7 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 425,000 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	19	9,500
Feb	35	17,500
Mar	69	34,500
Apr	101	50,500
May	123	61,500
Jun	116	58,000
Jul	119	59,500
Aug	102	51,000
Sep	78	39,000
Oct	46	23,000
Nov	25	12,500
Dec	16	8,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Sunderland against the rest of Tyne and Wear

Sunderland849
South Shields849
North Shields833
Washington828
Gateshead822
Newcastle806

Sunderland ranks 1 of 6 towns we cover in Tyne and Wear on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 806 to 849, a spread of 43 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 21,500 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 SR4

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
Marelli, Home Furniture Shop - Solar Panels	Marelli	0.97 MW	Roof	Application Withdrawn
Calsonic Kansei - Solar Array	SNRG Limited	2.07 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

Grid connection through Northern Powergrid

Connections around Sunderland are handled by Northern Powergrid, which sets the export limit for the site. Above 3.68 kW per phase the connection runs under G99, so the export limit is agreed in advance rather than assumed. Where the local network is constrained, an export-limited connection usually still makes the scheme work, because a farm uses most of what the roof makes during the working day.

Across Tyne and Wear the planning database records 116 solar schemes totalling 290 MW, of which 3 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

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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 Sunderland

How much does a farm roof near Sunderland generate?: The model gives 849 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 425,000 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 Sunderland take the export?: Northern Powergrid is the distribution network operator for Tyne and Wear. 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 Sunderland?: 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 Sunderland before design sign-off.
Has anyone near SR4 already done this?: The planning database records 0 ground mounted and 2 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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