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Solar panels for warehouses in Burnley

A Burnley warehouse roof sits idle through exactly the hours its occupier buys the most expensive electricity. We start with the covering and the structure, because a roof with five years left in it changes the answer entirely.

774 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 387,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.

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96 m phase 1
Drawing Burnley unit
Roof 96 x 62 m
Array 500 kWp
Yield 387,000 kWh/yr
Scale 1:500 / Rev A / BB11

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

Burnley / Lancashire
Industrial estate in the North West with solar arrays on several unit roofs
Industrial stock of the kind we survey across North West.

Logistics solar PV across Lancashire

What a roof in Burnley actually generates

Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 987 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 774 kWh for every kWp installed (EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss). That is about 13 percent below the mean across the towns we cover, so the case here leans harder on how much you use on site rather than on raw generation.

Distribution stock around Burnley clusters on M65 J9, M65 J10 and A56, which is where the large single-let roofs are.

Surveys run across BB postcodes, BB11 outward.

Burnley is the planning authority for most sites here, and the built-up area holds a population of about 78,255, 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 Burnley roof makes, month by month

What a Burnley roof makes, month by month

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

0255075100Jan: 16 kWh per kWpJanFeb: 31 kWh per kWpFebMar: 63 kWh per kWpMarApr: 95 kWh per kWpAprMay: 113 kWh per kWpMay113 kWh Jun: 109 kWh per kWpJunJul: 110 kWh per kWpJulAug: 92 kWh per kWpAugSep: 69 kWh per kWpSepOct: 40 kWh per kWpOctNov: 23 kWh per kWpNovDec: 13 kWh per kWpDec

May produces 8.7 times what Dec does on the same roof. A 500 kWp array here models at about 387,000 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
Jan168,000
Feb3115,500
Mar6331,500
Apr9547,500
May11356,500
Jun10954,500
Jul11055,000
Aug9246,000
Sep6934,500
Oct4020,000
Nov2311,500
Dec136,500
Source: EU PVGIS v5.2
FIG. 2 Burnley against the rest of Lancashire
  • Blackpool888
  • Lytham St Anne's878
  • Preston805
  • Lancaster797
  • Chorley787
  • Accrington783
  • Blackburn782
  • Burnley774

Burnley ranks 8 of 8 towns we cover in Lancashire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 774 to 888, a spread of 114 kWh per kWp. On a 500 kWp array that is about 57,000 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

Grid connection through Electricity North West

Connections around Burnley are handled by Electricity North West, 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 Lancashire the planning database records 161 solar schemes totalling 521 MW, of which 25 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).

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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.

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Questions about solar in Burnley

How much does a warehouse roof in Burnley generate?
The model gives 774 kWh for every kWp installed here, so 500 kWp comes out at about 387,000 kWh a year before any shading losses. You need roughly 1,485 sqm of clear roof to fit it. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Does the grid around Burnley have capacity?
Electricity North West is the distribution network operator for Lancashire. Anything above 3.68 kW per phase connects under G99, and the application sets the export limit. We submit it as part of the design.
Is planning permission needed for panels on a Burnley unit?
Usually permitted development covers it. We still put the question to Burnley before design sign-off, and we tell you early if a full application is needed rather than discovering it late.

Nearby

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