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

Modelled at 1028 kWh per kWp a year for a low-tilt array at this latitude, a 210 kWp system comes out at roughly 216,000 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 Chichester 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 Chichester 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 Chichester?

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.

Commercial building solar panels in Chichester

Whether solar pays on a Chichester commercial building depends less on the panels than on who owns the roof and who pays the bill. 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.

1028 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 210 kWp array models at about 216,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

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Drawing Chichester commercial roof

Roof 60 x 32 m, 1,920 m²

Array 210 kWp, east-west

Yield 216,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:400 / Rev A / PO19

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.

31,710: people in the Chichester built-up area (ONS Census 2021)
900: office properties on the rating list in Chichester (VOA, March 2025)
1,020: retail properties, 30 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 Home Counties town, offices and a retail park with solar on several roofs — Commercial stock of the kind we survey across South East. Generated illustration, not a named site.

Solar PV for commercial property across Sussex

What a flat roof in Chichester generates

Modelled irradiation here is 1,303 kWh per square metre a year on a low-tilt array, which works out at 1028 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 16 percent above the mean across the towns we cover.

Commercial stock in Chichester

Chichester has 900 office premises and 1,020 shops and other retail premises on the non-domestic rating list, according to the Valuation Office Agency. 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.

30 of those retail properties are superstores, large food stores, large shops or retail warehouses, together about 56,000 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 270 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 Chichester

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

Scheme	Applicant	Type	Capacity	Status
Via Ravenna	Chichester District Council	civic	0.17 MW	Awaiting Construction

The built-up area holds about 31,710 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 PO postcodes, PO19 outward.

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

Jun produces 6.0 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 210 kWp array here models at about 216,000 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	27	5,670
Feb	44	9,240
Mar	83	17,430
Apr	120	25,200
May	138	28,980
Jun	145	30,450
Jul	145	30,450
Aug	119	24,990
Sep	92	19,320
Oct	56	11,760
Nov	34	7,140
Dec	24	5,040

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Chichester against the rest of Sussex

Chichester1028
Lewes1028
Eastbourne1017
Brighton1015
Bognor Regis1000
Worthing999
Hastings989
Haywards Heath957
Horsham935

Chichester ranks 1 of 10 towns we cover in Sussex on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 915 to 1028, a spread of 113 kWh per kWp. On a 210 kWp commercial roof that is about 23,730 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

All solar on record near PO19

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
Hunters Race Solar Park	Aardvark Environment Matters	9.3 MW	Ground	Operational
Former Westhampnett Landfill	West Sussex County Council	7.5 MW	Ground	Operational
Via Ravenna - Solar Panel	Chichester District Council	0.17 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Teknoflex, Quarry Lane - Solar Panels	Contract Candles	0.18 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Chichester College, Westgate Fields - Solar Panels	Green Nation Solar Energy	0.35 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

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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?

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Questions about solar in Chichester

Is there enough sun in Chichester for a commercial roof array?: Modelled at 1028 kWh per kWp a year for a low-tilt array at this latitude, a 210 kWp system comes out at roughly 216,000 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 Chichester 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 Chichester 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 Chichester?: 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.

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