Commercial building solar panels in Corby
Commercial roofs in Corby tend to be flat, membrane covered and cluttered with plant, which shapes the layout more than the size does. We check the covering and the lease together, because a roof with eight years of membrane left and a tenant with a break in three changes the answer.
892 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 210 kWp array models at about 187,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Book a roof survey in CorbyIllustrative layout for a flat commercial roof of this size, with plant, shade and access kept clear. Your own figures come from the roof survey.
- 68,160
- people in the Corby built-up area (ONS Census 2021)
- 1,770
- office properties on the rating list in North Northamptonshire (VOA, March 2025)
- 2,340
- retail properties, 150 of them large-format (VOA, March 2025)
- 1
- named commercial rooftop scheme on the planning record nearby (REPD, Q1 2026)
Commercial rooftop solar across Northamptonshire
Yield on a Corby commercial roof
Modelled irradiation here is 1,140 kWh per square metre a year on a low-tilt array, which works out at 892 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 North Northamptonshire has
On the Valuation Office Agency's count, North Northamptonshire holds 2,340 retail and 1,770 office properties on the rating list. By office stock the district sits in the top quarter of the 318 districts in England and Wales; by retail stock it sits in the top quarter of the 318 districts in England and Wales.
The big roofs are in the 150 large-format retail units, superstores and retail warehouses in the district, about 294,000 square metres of floorspace under largely single storey roofs.
The same list carries 620 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 Corby
The Renewable Energy Planning Database records one roof-mounted scheme on leisure and hospitality buildings in this postcode district. These are other organisations' projects, listed from the public record, not ours.
| Scheme | Applicant | Type | Capacity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corby East Midlands International Pool, Parkland Gateway | North Northamptonshire Council | leisure | 0.3 MW | Awaiting Construction |
The built-up area holds about 68,160 people, so the stock here runs to high street premises, a supermarket or two and the odd hotel (ONS Census 2021 built-up areas).
We arrange surveys across the NN postcode area, starting from NN17.
Corby ranks 6 of 7 towns we cover in Northamptonshire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 890 to 900, a spread of 10 kWh per kWp. Within Northamptonshire that difference is small enough to ignore: where the building sits is not what decides this scheme, your consumption pattern is.
Grid connection through National Grid Electricity Distribution
Connections around Corby 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 Northamptonshire the planning database records 133 solar schemes totalling 1932 MW, of which 25 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).
All solar on record near NN17
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksons Bakery - Solar Panels | Jackson Bakery | 0.63 MW | Roof | Under Construction |
| Oakland International, Eismann Way - Solar Panels | BeBa Energy UK Limited | 0.64 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Ceva Logistics, Earlstrees Road - Solar Panels | Standard Life Investments Property Holdings | 0.49 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Corby East Midlands International Pool, Parkland Gateway - Solar Panels | North Northamptonshire Council | 0.3 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Curver Way - Solar Panels | Harvest Green Developments | 1 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Southern Group Laboratory, Cavendish Courtyard - Solar Panels | Southern Group Laboratory Limited | 0.32 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
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 Corby
- How much would solar on a commercial building in Corby generate?
- The model gives 892 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 210 kWp is about 187,000 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.
- Do we need planning permission for solar on a commercial building in North Northamptonshire?
- 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 North Northamptonshire 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.
- Does solar help a Corby landlord meet MEES?
- 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.
- Which network operator handles the connection in Corby?
- Capacity varies street by street and only National Grid Electricity Distribution can answer it for your connection. We ask early, because an export-limited offer changes the design rather than ending the scheme, and most commercial buildings use most of what they generate anyway.