How much would solar on a commercial building in Sunderland generate?

The model gives 849 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 210 kWp is about 178,000 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 Sunderland 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 Sunderland 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 Sunderland?

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 Sunderland have capacity for export?

Northern Powergrid is the distribution network operator for Tyne and Wear. 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 Sunderland

For a landlord in Sunderland, 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.

849 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 210 kWp array models at about 178,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

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Drawing Sunderland commercial roof

Roof 60 x 32 m, 1,920 m²

Array 210 kWp, east-west

Yield 178,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:400 / Rev A / SR4

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.

168,315: people in the Sunderland built-up area (ONS Census 2021)
1,520: office properties on the rating list in Sunderland (VOA, March 2025)
2,420: retail properties, 100 of them large-format (VOA, March 2025)
0: named commercial rooftop schemes on the planning record nearby (REPD, Q1 2026)

The commercial edge of a northern town, offices and a retail park with solar on several roofs — Commercial stock of the kind we survey across North East. Generated illustration, not a named site.

Solar for offices and retail across Tyne and Wear

How much sun a Sunderland roof gets

Modelled irradiation here is 1,080 kWh per square metre a year on a low-tilt array, which works out at 849 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is about 4 percent below the mean across the towns we cover, so the case here rests more on daytime consumption than on raw generation.

The rating list for Sunderland

The Valuation Office Agency's rating list puts 1,520 office and 2,420 retail properties in Sunderland, covering about 337,000 and 544,000 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 in the top quarter 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 273,000 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 380 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.

The built-up area holds about 168,315 people, large enough for a retail park or two and a cluster of office buildings (ONS Census 2021 built-up areas).

Surveys run across SR postcodes, SR4 outward.

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

May produces 7.7 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 210 kWp array here models at about 178,000 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	19	3,990
Feb	35	7,350
Mar	69	14,490
Apr	101	21,210
May	123	25,830
Jun	116	24,360
Jul	119	24,990
Aug	102	21,420
Sep	78	16,380
Oct	46	9,660
Nov	25	5,250
Dec	16	3,360

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Sunderland against the rest of Tyne and Wear

Sunderland849
South Shields849
North Shields833
Washington828
Gateshead822
Newcastle806

Sunderland ranks 1 of 6 towns we cover in Tyne and Wear on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 806 to 849, a spread of 43 kWh per kWp. On a 210 kWp commercial roof that is about 9,030 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 SR4

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
Marelli, Home Furniture Shop - Solar Panels	Marelli	0.97 MW	Roof	Application Withdrawn
Calsonic Kansei - Solar Array	SNRG Limited	2.07 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

Grid connection through Northern Powergrid

Connections around Sunderland are handled by Northern Powergrid, 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 Tyne and Wear the planning database records 116 solar schemes totalling 290 MW, of which 3 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

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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 Sunderland

How much would solar on a commercial building in Sunderland generate?: The model gives 849 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 210 kWp is about 178,000 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 Sunderland 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 Sunderland 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 Sunderland?: 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 Sunderland have capacity for export?: Northern Powergrid is the distribution network operator for Tyne and Wear. 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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