Solar panels for warehouses in Leicester
Most of the industrial stock around Leicester carries a large, shallow-pitched roof that was never asked to do anything. Each survey records the cladding profile, the usable area once rooflights and plant are removed, and the export limit worth applying for.
874 kWh per kWp a year at this latitude, so a 500 kWp array models at about 437,000 kWh. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
Book a roof survey in LeicesterIllustrative layout for a unit of this size. Your own figures come from the roof survey.
Distribution centre solar across Leicestershire
What a roof in Leicester actually generates
Modelled irradiation at this latitude is 1116 kWh per square metre a year in the plane of a shallow-pitched roof, which works out at 874 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 Leicester clusters on M1 J21, M1 J22 and M69, which is where the large single-let roofs are.
We survey across the LE postcode area, starting from LE1.
Leicester is the planning authority for most sites here, and the built-up area holds a population of about 406,580, which is large enough to pull in the regional distribution centres that come with the biggest roofs (ONS Census 2021 built-up areas).
Leicester ranks 4 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 operates the distribution network across Leicestershire, so the export application goes to them. Anything larger than 3.68 kW per phase falls under G99, which means an application before commissioning rather than a notification afterwards. A constrained network is not the end of a scheme. Capping export costs little when the building already absorbs most of what the roof produces.
Across Leicestershire the planning database records 165 solar schemes totalling 1259 MW, of which 37 are operational (REPD Q1 2026).
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 Leicester
- What would a 500 kWp array produce in Leicester?
- Yes, and the number matters more than the sunshine. At 874 kWh per kWp a year, a 500 kWp array on a Leicester roof models at around 437,000 kWh. What changes the answer is how much of that you use on site rather than export. Source: EU PVGIS v5.2, SARAH3, 10 degree pitch, 14 percent system loss.
- Which network operator handles the connection in Leicester?
- Applications go to National Grid Electricity Distribution, who run the network across Leicestershire. They decide the export limit, and we handle the G99 paperwork alongside the array design.
- What does Leicester require for rooftop solar?
- Roof-mounted panels on a commercial building usually fall under permitted development, subject to the limits on projection above the roof plane and to the building not being listed or in a conservation area. We confirm the position with Leicester before the design is finalised.