Commercial building solar panels in Accrington
Most commercial roofs around Accrington 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.
783 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 210 kWp array models at about 164,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Book a roof survey in AccringtonIllustrative layout for a flat commercial roof of this size, with plant, shade and access kept clear. Your own figures come from the roof survey.
- 34,895
- people in the Accrington built-up area (ONS Census 2021)
- 340
- office properties on the rating list in Hyndburn (VOA, March 2025)
- 1,050
- retail properties, 30 of them large-format (VOA, March 2025)
- 1
- named commercial rooftop scheme on the planning record nearby (REPD, Q1 2026)
Commercial rooftop solar across Lancashire
Yield on a Accrington commercial roof
Modelled irradiation here is 997 kWh per square metre a year on a low-tilt array, which works out at 783 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is about 12 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 Hyndburn has
On the Valuation Office Agency's count, Hyndburn holds 1,050 retail and 340 office properties on the rating list. By office stock the district sits in the bottom quarter of the 318 districts in England and Wales; by retail stock it sits below the median of the 318 districts in England and Wales.
30 of those retail properties are superstores, large food stores, large shops or retail warehouses, together about 39,000 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 110 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 Accrington
The Renewable Energy Planning Database records one roof-mounted scheme on 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altham Business Park | The Senator Group Altham | office | 1.18 MW | Operational |
The built-up area holds about 34,895 people, so the stock here runs to high street premises, a supermarket or two and the odd hotel (ONS Census 2021 built-up areas).
Surveys run across BB postcodes, BB5 outward.
Accrington ranks 6 of 8 towns we cover in Lancashire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 774 to 888, a spread of 114 kWh per kWp. On a 210 kWp commercial roof that is about 23,940 kWh a year between the strongest and weakest town in the county.
All solar on record near BB5
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whinney Hill Road - Solar Photovoltaic Panels | Senator Group | 0.18 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Altham Business Park - Solar Panels | The Senator Group Altham | 1.18 MW | Roof | Operational |
| Newhouse Road - Solar PV System | Senator Group | 0.43 MW | Roof | Application Submitted |
| Altham - Solar PV | Senator Group | 0.15 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| St Christophers School, Queens Road - Solar Panels | Solar Options for Schools Limited | 0.41 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Coach Road Meadow - Solar Farm | Prospects Community Energy Limited | 2 MW | Ground | Awaiting Construction |
Grid connection through Electricity North West
Electricity North West is the network operator here, and their answer on export capacity shapes the design. Any commercial array above 3.68 kW per phase connects under G99 rather than G98, and the application fixes what you are allowed to push back onto the network. If the local network is tight, limiting export rarely breaks the case here: most of the generation is consumed on site while the building is working.
Across Lancashire the planning database records 161 solar schemes totalling 521 MW, of which 25 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 Accrington
- What would a 210 kWp array produce in Accrington?
- Yes. At 783 kWh per kWp a year, a 210 kWp array on a Accrington roof models at around 164,000 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 Accrington 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 Hyndburn 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 Accrington?
- 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 Accrington have capacity for export?
- Electricity North West is the distribution network operator for Lancashire. 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.