Is there enough sun in Plymouth for a commercial roof array?

Modelled at 960 kWh per kWp a year for a low-tilt array at this latitude, a 210 kWp system comes out at roughly 202,000 kWh a year before shading. It needs about 1,390 m² of flat roof once the edge strip, plant and walkways are kept clear. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Is planning permission needed for panels on a Plymouth 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 Plymouth 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 Plymouth?

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 Plymouth have capacity for export?

National Grid Electricity Distribution is the distribution network operator for Devon. 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.

Commercial building solar panels in Plymouth

For a landlord in Plymouth, a roof array is increasingly a question about the EPC rating as much as the electricity bill. Each survey records the usable area once edge strips, plant and walkways are taken out, the load the deck can take, and whether the lease lets the occupier alter the roof.

960 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 210 kWp array models at about 202,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

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Drawing Plymouth commercial roof

Roof 60 x 32 m, 1,920 m²

Array 210 kWp, east-west

Yield 202,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:400 / Rev A / PL3

Illustrative layout for a flat commercial roof of this size, with plant, shade and access kept clear. Your own figures come from the roof survey.

266,955: people in the Plymouth built-up area (ONS Census 2021)
1,500: office properties on the rating list in Plymouth (VOA, March 2025)
1,950: retail properties, 100 of them large-format (VOA, March 2025)
1: named commercial rooftop scheme on the planning record nearby (REPD, Q1 2026)

The commercial edge of a South West market town, with rooftop solar on several buildings — Commercial stock of the kind we survey across South West. Generated illustration, not a named site.

Solar for offices and retail across Devon

How much sun a Plymouth roof gets

Modelled irradiation here is 1,225 kWh per square metre a year on a low-tilt array, which works out at 960 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 8 percent above the mean across the towns we cover.

The rating list for Plymouth

The Valuation Office Agency's rating list puts 1,500 office and 1,950 retail properties in Plymouth, covering about 263,000 and 515,000 square metres of floorspace respectively. By office stock the district sits in the top quarter of the 318 districts in England and Wales; by retail stock it sits above the median of the 318 districts in England and Wales.

100 of those retail properties are superstores, large food stores, large shops or retail warehouses, together about 274,000 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 430 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 Plymouth

The Renewable Energy Planning Database records one roof-mounted scheme on supermarket and retail buildings in this postcode district. These are other organisations' projects, listed from the public record, not ours.

Scheme	Applicant	Type	Capacity	Status
Sainsburys Supermarket, Plymouth Road	Sainsburys Supermarkets Limited	retail	0.91 MW	Awaiting Construction

The built-up area holds about 266,955 people, a city-scale centre with office quarters, shopping centres and out-of-town retail parks (ONS Census 2021 built-up areas).

Surveys run across PL postcodes, PL3 outward.

FIG. 1 What a Plymouth roof makes, month by month

Jun produces 7.1 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 210 kWp array here models at about 202,000 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	210 kWp array
Jan	24	5,040
Feb	42	8,820
Mar	78	16,380
Apr	114	23,940
May	132	27,720
Jun	134	28,140
Jul	132	27,720
Aug	115	24,150
Sep	87	18,270
Oct	53	11,130
Nov	31	6,510
Dec	19	3,990

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Plymouth against the rest of Devon

Paignton961
Plymouth960
Newton Abbot943
Exeter938
Torquay937
Exmouth937
Barnstaple908
Tiverton903

Plymouth ranks 2 of 8 towns we cover in Devon on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 903 to 961, a spread of 58 kWh per kWp. On a 210 kWp commercial roof that is about 12,180 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

Grid connection through National Grid Electricity Distribution

Connections around Plymouth are handled by National Grid Electricity Distribution, 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 commercial building uses most of what the roof makes during the working day.

Across Devon the planning database records 248 solar schemes totalling 1451 MW, of which 90 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

Book the survey

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.

Your name Company Email Phone Site postcode Building type Your interest in the building Roof area Annual electricity spend What are you looking at?

Anything we should know about the roof?

We pass your details to our MCS-certified installation partner so they can quote. Read the privacy notice.

Questions about solar in Plymouth

Is there enough sun in Plymouth for a commercial roof array?: Modelled at 960 kWh per kWp a year for a low-tilt array at this latitude, a 210 kWp system comes out at roughly 202,000 kWh a year before shading. It needs about 1,390 m² of flat roof once the edge strip, plant and walkways are kept clear. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Is planning permission needed for panels on a Plymouth 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 Plymouth 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 Plymouth?: 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 Plymouth have capacity for export?: National Grid Electricity Distribution is the distribution network operator for Devon. 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.

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All Devon locations