Solar panels for warehouses in Coalville
Roof space is the one asset a Coalville unit already owns and rarely uses. We start with the covering and the structure, because a roof with five years left in it changes the answer entirely.
863 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 432,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Book a roof survey in CoalvilleIllustrative layout for a unit of this size. Your own figures come from the roof survey.
Warehouse rooftop solar across Leicestershire
What a roof in Coalville actually generates
Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1100 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 863 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.
Distribution stock around Coalville clusters on M1 J22, A511 and A50, which is where the large single-let roofs are.
Most of the units we look at here sit in the LE postcode area.
North West Leicestershire is the planning authority for most sites here, and the built-up area holds a population of about 21,980, so the stock here runs to trade counters, light industrial terraces and the occasional larger shed (ONS Census 2021 built-up areas).
Coalville ranks 7 of 7 towns we cover in Leicestershire on modelled yield, against a national mean of 886 kWh per kWp. The county runs from 863 to 891, a spread of 28 kWh per kWp. Within Leicestershire that difference is small enough to ignore: where the building sits is not what decides this scheme, your consumption pattern is.
Grid connection through National Grid Electricity Distribution
National Grid Electricity Distribution is the network operator here, and their answer on export capacity shapes the design. Any commercial array above 3.68 kW per phase connects under G99 rather than G98, and the application fixes what you are allowed to push back onto the network. If the local network is tight, limiting export rarely breaks the case here: most of the generation is consumed on site while the building is working.
Across Leicestershire the planning database records 165 solar schemes totalling 1259 MW, of which 37 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).
Solar already consented near LE67
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower Hayes Farm | Elgar Middleton | 5 MW | Ground | Operational |
| Thornton Lane | Green Hedge (BayWa r.e.) | 2.7 MW | Ground | Operational |
| Amazon - BHX2 | Amazon UK Services / Push Energy | 3.7 MW | Roof | Planning Permission Expired |
| Pretoria Road | Lightsource BP | 4.9 MW | Ground | Operational |
| West Lane, Bardon Hill - Solar PV System | BeBa Energy UK Limited | 0.61 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
| Morrisons, Whitwick Road - Solar Panels | WM Morrisons Supermarkets Plc | 0.75 MW | Roof | Awaiting Construction |
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 Coalville
- Is there enough sun in Coalville to make this work?
- Modelled at 863 kWh per kWp a year for a shallow-pitched roof at this latitude, which puts a 500 kWp array at roughly 432,000 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 Coalville?
- 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 North West Leicestershire?
- 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 North West Leicestershire first either way.
- Has anyone near LE67 already done this?
- The planning database records 6 solar schemes in this postcode district, 3 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.