Is there enough sun around Washington to make this work?

Modelled at 828 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 414,000 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 Washington?

Only Northern Powergrid 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 County Durham?

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 County Durham either way.

Has anyone near NE38 already done this?

The planning database records 0 ground mounted and 6 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 Washington

Farm buildings around Washington carry broad, shallow roofs that were put up for storage and stock, not for generation. 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.

828 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 414,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Washington

Drawing Washington unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 414,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / NE38

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

Washington / Tyne and Wear

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

Agricultural rooftop solar across Tyne and Wear

What a farm roof near Washington generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1055 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 828 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is about 7 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.

6 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 Washington is higher than the record shows.

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

County Durham 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 Washington roof makes, month by month

May produces 8.0 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 414,000 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	67	33,500
Apr	98	49,000
May	120	60,000
Jun	113	56,500
Jul	117	58,500
Aug	99	49,500
Sep	75	37,500
Oct	44	22,000
Nov	25	12,500
Dec	15	7,500

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Washington against the rest of Tyne and Wear

Sunderland849
South Shields849
North Shields833
Washington828
Gateshead822
Newcastle806

Washington ranks 4 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 NE38

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
Sedling Road - Solar Panels	Roundel Manufacturing Limited	0.36 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Griffiths Textiles Machines, Alston Road - Solar Panels	Abrdn	0.7 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Rocket Medical, Sedling Road - Solar PV System	Rocket Medical Plc	0.43 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Rolls Royce Plc, Radial Park Road - Solar Panels	Rolls Royce	1.57 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
The Cylinder Service Centre, Sedling Road - Solar Panels	Cylinder Service Centre	0.2 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Washington Primary Care Centre, Parkway - Solar Panels	City Hospital Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust	0.2 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

Grid connection through Northern Powergrid

Connections around Washington 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).

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 Washington

Is there enough sun around Washington to make this work?: Modelled at 828 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 414,000 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 Washington?: Only Northern Powergrid 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 County Durham?: 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 County Durham either way.
Has anyone near NE38 already done this?: The planning database records 0 ground mounted and 6 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

All Tyne and Wear locations