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Solar panels for warehouses in March

A March warehouse roof sits idle through exactly the hours its occupier buys the most expensive electricity. What decides a scheme here is the state of the covering and the load path, which is why the survey starts on the roof rather than in a spreadsheet.

900 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 450,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in March
96 m phase 1
Drawing March unit
Roof 96 x 62 m
Array 500 kWp
Yield 450,000 kWh/yr
Scale 1:500 / Rev A / PE15

Illustrative layout for a unit of this size. Your own figures come from the roof survey.

March / Cambridgeshire
Distribution estate in the east of England with solar arrays on several roofs
Industrial stock of the kind we survey across East of England.

Logistics solar PV across Cambridgeshire

What a roof in March actually generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1154 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 900 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That sits within a few percent of the mean across the towns we cover, so the case rests on your consumption pattern rather than on the weather.

Surveys run across PE postcodes, PE15 outward.

Fenland is the planning authority for most sites here, and the built-up area holds a population of about 21,345, so the stock here runs to trade counters, light industrial terraces and the occasional larger shed (ONS Census 2021 built-up areas).

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

What a March roof makes, month by month

Modelled output per kWp installed, for a shallow-pitched south-facing array. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2.

050100Jan: 24 kWh per kWpJanFeb: 39 kWh per kWpFebMar: 73 kWh per kWpMarApr: 104 kWh per kWpAprMay: 121 kWh per kWpMayJun: 122 kWh per kWpJunJul: 124 kWh per kWpJul124 kWh Aug: 107 kWh per kWpAugSep: 83 kWh per kWpSepOct: 51 kWh per kWpOctNov: 31 kWh per kWpNovDec: 21 kWh per kWpDec

Jul produces 5.9 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 450,000 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
MonthkWh per kWp500 kWp array
Jan2412,000
Feb3919,500
Mar7336,500
Apr10452,000
May12160,500
Jun12261,000
Jul12462,000
Aug10753,500
Sep8341,500
Oct5125,500
Nov3115,500
Dec2110,500
Source: EU PVGIS v5.2
FIG. 2 March against the rest of Cambridgeshire
  • Huntingdon908
  • Cambridge906
  • St Ives906
  • Wisbech905
  • Ely904
  • March900
  • Peterborough898
  • St Neots898

March ranks 6 of 8 towns we cover in Cambridgeshire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 898 to 908, a spread of 10 kWh per kWp. Within Cambridgeshire that difference is small enough to ignore: where the building sits is not what decides this scheme, your consumption pattern is.

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

Grid connection through UK Power Networks

Connections around March are handled by UK Power Networks, 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 warehouse uses most of what the roof makes during the working day.

Across Cambridgeshire the planning database records 172 solar schemes totalling 2422 MW, of which 46 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

Solar already consented near PE15

From the government's Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026. These are the schemes on record in this postcode district, which is a fair guide to how the local network has been treating export applications.

Scheme Operator Capacity Mounting Status
Knights End Road Solar Farm Caledon Partners (Solar Power Parks) 5 MW Ground Planning Permission Expired
Asksham Community Village Solar Farm Engerera Renewables Limited 0.15 MW Ground Under Construction
Willow Farm BeBa Energy UK Limited 1.15 MW Ground Operational
Linwood Farm, Linwood Lane - Solar Panels BeBa Energy UK Limited 0.41 MW Roof Awaiting Construction
West Fen Farm, Whitemoor Road - Solar Farm Pathfinder Clean Energy UK Dev Limited 49.8 MW Ground Application Submitted
Storelogs Holdings, Marwick Road - Solar PV Array Storelogs Holdings Limited 0.27 MW Ground Awaiting Construction
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Send us the postcode

Tell us where the unit is and roughly how big the roof is. 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.

We pass your details to our MCS-certified installation partner so they can quote. Read the privacy notice.

Questions about solar in March

Is there enough sun in March to make this work?
Modelled at 900 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 450,000 kWh a year before shading. That array needs about 1,485 sqm of clear roof once walkways and setbacks are allowed for. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Who do we apply to for export in March?
Capacity varies street by street, and only UK Power Networks can answer it for your connection. We ask the question early, because an export-limited offer changes the design rather than killing the scheme.
Do we need planning permission in Fenland?
In most cases no, because roof-mounted panels on commercial buildings sit within permitted development. The exceptions are listed buildings, conservation areas and arrays that stand proud of the roof plane. We check with Fenland first either way.
Has anyone near PE15 already done this?
The planning database records 6 solar schemes in this postcode district, 1 of them roof mounted. That matters less as proof that it works and more as evidence of how the local network has been treating export applications. Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database, Q1 2026.

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