Commercial building solar panels in Bury
Most commercial roofs around Bury already carry plant, a parapet and an access hatch, and the space between them is where the array goes. 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.
788 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 210 kWp array models at about 165,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Book a roof survey in BuryIllustrative layout for a flat commercial roof of this size, with plant, shade and access kept clear. Your own figures come from the roof survey.
- 81,095
- people in the Bury built-up area (ONS Census 2021)
- 1,210
- office properties on the rating list in Bury (VOA, March 2025)
- 1,870
- retail properties, 70 of them large-format (VOA, March 2025)
- 1
- named commercial rooftop scheme on the planning record nearby (REPD, Q1 2026)
Commercial rooftop solar across Greater Manchester
Yield on a Bury commercial roof
Modelled irradiation here is 1,009 kWh per square metre a year on a low-tilt array, which works out at 788 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is about 11 percent below the mean across the towns we cover, so the case here rests more on daytime consumption than on raw generation.
How many commercial buildings Bury has
On the Valuation Office Agency's count, Bury holds 1,870 retail and 1,210 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 above the median of the 318 districts in England and Wales.
70 of those retail properties are superstores, large food stores, large shops or retail warehouses, together about 165,000 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 280 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 Bury
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Food Warehouse Iceland, Pilsworth Road | Ashcroft Electrical Services Limited | retail | 0.16 MW | Awaiting Construction |
The built-up area holds about 81,095 people, large enough for a retail park or two and a cluster of office buildings (ONS Census 2021 built-up areas).
Surveys run across BL postcodes, BL9 outward.
Bury ranks 6 of 10 towns we cover in Greater Manchester on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 769 to 828, a spread of 59 kWh per kWp. On a 210 kWp commercial roof that is about 12,390 kWh a year between the strongest and weakest town in the county.
Grid connection through Electricity North West
Connections around Bury are handled by Electricity North West, 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 Greater Manchester the planning database records 118 solar schemes totalling 110 MW, of which 11 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 Bury
- How much would solar on a commercial building in Bury generate?
- The model gives 788 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 210 kWp is about 165,000 kWh a year before shading losses. Allow roughly 1,390 m² of roof for it. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
- Is planning permission needed for panels on a Bury 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 Bury 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 Bury?
- 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 Bury have capacity for export?
- Electricity North West is the distribution network operator for Greater Manchester. 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.