Solar for farms and businesses in Herefordshire
Barns, grain stores, workshops and business units have the roofs solar wants: big, unshaded and often facing open fields. A south-facing roof in Hereford makes around 1,000 units of electricity a year for every kilowatt of panels on it. The survey is free and tells you what yours would make before anyone talks about price.
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- ✓ Fully insured
- ✓ Free written quotes
Prices
| Job | Price |
|---|---|
| Roof survey and the sums on whether it pays | free |
| Solar on a barn, shed, workshop or business roof | priced on request after the survey |
| Repairs to an existing farm or business array | £90 callout including the first hour |
Prices exclude VAT. Solar on farm and business buildings is standard rated at 20%, which VAT-registered businesses reclaim as normal. Every job gets a free written quote. Full price list
Why farm roofs suit solar
- Big roofs with nothing next door throwing shade across them.
- Power used in daylight: workshops, cold stores, pumps, drying and the farm office all run while the panels are making it.
- A 30kW system on a south-facing barn in Hereford would make around 30,000 units a year, going by the EU's PVGIS solar data for the city.
- If the house roof faces the wrong way, a barn or a shed often does not.
Planning: what you can do without applying
- Pitched roof: panels no more than 20cm off the roof surface.
- Flat roof: no more than a metre above the highest point and at least a metre in from the edge.
- Over 50kW on a roof: a prior approval application to the council on design and glare, 56 days for them to answer. The old 1MW cap on roof systems went in December 2023.
- Ground arrays at a farm or business are only permitted up to 9 square metres. A proper field array needs full planning permission.
- Listed buildings and anything in their grounds need full permission. In the Wye Valley and Malvern Hills National Landscapes, walls facing a road are off limits too.
The money side
Solar counts as plant for tax. The Annual Investment Allowance covers up to £1 million a year and is open to sole traders, partnerships and companies, so most farms can set the whole cost against profit in the year they buy. Companies can take a 50% first-year allowance instead. Your accountant will confirm how it applies to you.
Rooftop solar on your own premises is left out of the rateable value until 31 March 2035, so it does not put your business rates up.
Connecting to the grid
Herefordshire's network is run by National Grid Electricity Distribution, the old Western Power. A small system is notified to them within 28 days of switching on. Bigger systems generally need an application before they go in, and an export-limited system can use the fast track, where they reply inside 10 working days.
Which route yours needs depends on the system size and your supply, single or three phase. That is part of the survey, not a surprise afterwards.
Commercial work we already do
We are a NICEIC Approved Contractor, and our commercial work ranges from a plant-room installation at a Hereford university campus to reactive maintenance accounts for local businesses. See our commercial electrician page and how reactive maintenance works.
Already got panels on a barn?
If an array has stopped performing, or the firm who fitted it has gone, we repair systems we did not install. £90 covers the callout and the first hour. More on our solar repairs page, and for homes, see solar panels in Hereford.
Questions we get asked
Do I need planning permission for solar on a barn?
Usually not. Panels on a farm or business roof are permitted development as long as they sit no more than 20cm off a pitched roof, or no more than a metre above a flat one and a metre in from the edge. Over 50kW on a roof, you send the council a prior approval application on design and glare first, and they have 56 days to reply. A listed building, or a building in the grounds of one, needs full permission.
Is there a grant for farm solar?
Not at the moment. The last one that paid for rooftop solar, Improving Farm Productivity round 2, closed in July 2025, and nothing open on gov.uk in October 2026 funds solar. If a new round opens, we will tell you.
Is there VAT on farm and business solar?
Yes, at the standard 20%. The 0% rate only covers homes and charity buildings. If your business is VAT registered, you reclaim it in the usual way.
What about panels on the farmhouse?
Panels on the house itself are a domestic install, zero rated for VAT until 31 March 2027. If a system on a barn is going to supply the house as well, check the VAT treatment with your accountant before you commit, because it changes the sums.
How long does the grid connection take?
A small system (up to 3.68kW on each phase) is notified to National Grid after it is commissioned. Bigger systems generally need an application first. An export-limited system can go on the fast track, where they reply within 10 working days. A full application takes longer, and we tell you which route you are on at the survey.
Got a roof doing nothing?
WhatsApp us a photo of the building and a recent electricity bill. We will tell you whether it is worth a survey.