Commercial building solar panels in Cambridge
Most commercial roofs around Cambridge already carry plant, a parapet and an access hatch, and the space between them is where the array goes. The survey starts with the membrane and the deck: how many years the covering has left, what the roof can carry in ballast, and where plant and its shade rule panels out.
906 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 210 kWp array models at about 190,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Book a roof survey in CambridgeIllustrative layout for a flat commercial roof of this size, with plant, shade and access kept clear. Your own figures come from the roof survey.
- 152,740
- people in the Cambridge built-up area (ONS Census 2021)
- 1,370
- office properties on the rating list in Cambridge (VOA, March 2025)
- 1,120
- retail properties, 60 of them large-format (VOA, March 2025)
- 2
- named commercial rooftop schemes on the planning record nearby (REPD, Q1 2026)
Commercial rooftop solar across Cambridgeshire
Yield on a Cambridge commercial roof
Modelled irradiation here is 1,160 kWh per square metre a year on a low-tilt array, which works out at 906 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is within a few percent of the mean across the towns we cover, so the weather is not what decides the case here. Opening hours are.
How many commercial buildings Cambridge has
On the Valuation Office Agency's count, Cambridge holds 1,120 retail and 1,370 office properties on the rating list. By office stock the district sits above the median of the 318 districts in England and Wales; by retail stock it sits below the median of the 318 districts in England and Wales.
60 of those retail properties are superstores, large food stores, large shops or retail warehouses, together about 152,000 square metres. Single storey boxes of that size are where most commercial rooftop solar actually gets built, because the roof is big, flat or shallow, and uninterrupted.
The same list carries 240 hotel, leisure and assembly properties in the district. Leisure centres and hotels run seven days a week, which puts weekend generation to use that an office would export.
Source: Valuation Office Agency, Non-domestic rating: business floorspace, 31 March 2025 (published December 2025), counts and floorspace by special category code and local authority district, England and Wales.
Commercial rooftop solar already planned near Cambridge
The Renewable Energy Planning Database records 2 roof-mounted schemes on leisure and hospitality and office and business park buildings in this postcode district. These are other organisations' projects, listed from the public record, not ours.
| Scheme | Applicant | Type | Capacity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Parkside Pool | Cambridge City Council | leisure | n/a | Awaiting Construction |
| Coldhams Business Park, Norman Way | Centrica Business Solutions | office | 0.5 MW | Awaiting Construction |
The built-up area holds about 152,740 people, large enough for a retail park or two and a cluster of office buildings (ONS Census 2021 built-up areas).
Surveys run across CB postcodes, CB1 outward.
Cambridge ranks 2 of 8 towns we cover in Cambridgeshire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 898 to 908, a spread of 10 kWh per kWp. Within Cambridgeshire that difference is small enough to ignore: where the building sits is not what decides this scheme, your consumption pattern is.
All solar on record near CB1
Every scheme in this postcode district in the government's Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026, ground and roof mounted, commercial or not. None of them is ours. Together they are a fair guide to how the local network has been treating export applications.
| Scheme | Operator | Capacity | Mounting | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Bedes Inter-Church School | Solar Options for Schools | 1 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Cambridge Parkside Pool | Cambridge City Council | n/a | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Coldhams Business Park, Norman Way - Solar Panels | Centrica Business Solutions | 0.5 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
Grid connection through UK Power Networks
UK Power Networks operates the distribution network across Cambridgeshire, so the export application goes to them. Anything larger than 3.68 kW per phase falls under G99, which means an application before commissioning rather than a notification afterwards. A constrained network is not the end of a scheme. Capping export costs little when the building already absorbs most of what the roof produces.
Across Cambridgeshire the planning database records 172 solar schemes totalling 2422 MW, of which 46 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).
Send us the postcode
Tell us where the building is, roughly how big the roof is, and whether you own it or lease it. 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 Cambridge
- What would a 210 kWp array produce in Cambridge?
- Yes. At 906 kWh per kWp a year, a 210 kWp array on a Cambridge roof models at around 190,000 kWh. What changes the answer is how much of that the building uses during opening hours rather than exports. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
- Is planning permission needed for panels on a Cambridge office or shop?
- Usually not a full application. In England, panels on the roof of a non-domestic building are permitted development under Class J of Part 14 of the General Permitted Development Order, with no capacity cap since December 2023. Above 50 kW, which covers most commercial arrays, you must first apply to Cambridge for a determination on prior approval of the design and appearance, in particular glare on neighbouring land. On a flat roof panels may stand no more than 1 metre above the roof and must sit at least 1 metre from its edge, and listed buildings and scheduled monuments are excluded. See our planning permission guide for the detail.
- Will rooftop solar improve the EPC rating of a let building in Cambridge?
- It can. A non-domestic EPC is an asset rating, and on-site generation counts in the calculation, so an array usually lifts the score. Let property in England and Wales must be EPC E or better today. The government's interim response of 18 June 2026 proposes EPC B, where cost effective, from 2031 for let buildings over 1,000 m², and drops the EPC C step once planned for 2027. How far solar moves a particular building depends on its fabric and services, which is why the EPC assessor models it before anything is fitted.
- Does the grid around Cambridge have capacity for export?
- UK Power Networks is the distribution network operator for Cambridgeshire. Arrays above 3.68 kW per phase connect under G99, and the application sets the export limit. It is part of the design work we arrange.