Is there enough sun in Truro to make this work?

Modelled at 940 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 470,000 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 Truro?

Capacity varies street by street, and only National Grid Electricity Distribution 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 Cornwall?

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 Cornwall first either way.

Has anyone near TR1 already done this?

The planning database records 4 solar schemes in this postcode district, 4 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.

Solar panels for warehouses in Truro

Most of the industrial stock around Truro carries a large, shallow-pitched roof that was never asked to do anything. The survey measures the roof, not the postcode: cladding profile, purlin centres, remaining sheet life and the load the frame can take.

940 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 470,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

Book a roof survey in Truro

Drawing Truro unit

Roof 96 x 62 m

Array 500 kWp

Yield 470,000 kWh/yr

Scale 1:500 / Rev A / TR1

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

Truro / Cornwall

South West industrial estate on the edge of a market town, with rooftop solar — Industrial stock of the kind we survey across South West.

Distribution centre solar across Cornwall

What a roof in Truro actually generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1194 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 940 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is around 6 percent above the mean across the towns we cover, which is as good as UK rooftop gets outside the south coast.

Distribution stock around Truro clusters on A30, A39 and A390, which is where the large single-let roofs are.

We survey across the TR postcode area, starting from TR1.

Cornwall is the planning authority for most sites here, and the built-up area holds a population of about 23,060, 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 Truro roof makes, month by month

Jun produces 5.9 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 470,000 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	500 kWp array
Jan	26	13,000
Feb	43	21,500
Mar	76	38,000
Apr	111	55,500
May	127	63,500
Jun	129	64,500
Jul	126	63,000
Aug	111	55,500
Sep	85	42,500
Oct	53	26,500
Nov	32	16,000
Dec	22	11,000

Source: EU PVGIS v5.2

FIG. 2 Truro against the rest of Cornwall

Penzance979
Falmouth943
Newquay940
Truro940
St Austell936
Bodmin929
Bude929
Camborne921

Truro ranks 4 of 8 towns we cover in Cornwall on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 921 to 979, a spread of 58 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 29,000 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

Solar already consented near TR1

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
Treyew Road - Solar Panels	Carbon Neutral Cornwall Team	0.33 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Sir Ben Ainslie Sports Centre, Trennick Lane - Solar Panels	Truro School	0.24 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction
Vospers, Treliske Retail Park - Solar Panels	Vospers Motor House Limited	n/a	Roof	Awaiting Construction
J Sainsbury, Treyew Road - Solar panels	Cornwall Council	0.44 MW	Roof	Awaiting Construction

Grid connection through National Grid Electricity Distribution

Connections around Truro 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 warehouse uses most of what the roof makes during the working day.

Across Cornwall the planning database records 174 solar schemes totalling 1116 MW, of which 88 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

Book the survey

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.

Questions about solar in Truro

Is there enough sun in Truro to make this work?: Modelled at 940 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 470,000 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 Truro?: Capacity varies street by street, and only National Grid Electricity Distribution 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 Cornwall?: 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 Cornwall first either way.
Has anyone near TR1 already done this?: The planning database records 4 solar schemes in this postcode district, 4 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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