Agricultural solar panels
Solar Panels for Farms
Barn roofs and spare land can make your own electricity for milking, cooling, drying and storage. Book a free farm solar survey: we check the farm is suitable, then match you with one MCS certified installer who visits and gives you a proposal.
Free site survey: we match you with one MCS certified installer who covers your area and the size of the job. Your details go to that installer only, so you're not passed around or ring-rounded.
- Free survey, no obligation
- Barns, sheds, stores and ground-mounted panels
- One MCS certified installer that covers your area
- Grants and tax relief explained from official sources
Why farms suit solar panels
Solar panels make electricity in daylight. Farms that use power through the day, on buildings with large roofs or with land to spare, are well placed to use what the panels make.
Dairies
Milking, milk cooling and hot water run every day of the year, including weekends, so daytime output has somewhere to go.
Cold stores and chillers
Potato, fruit and vegetable stores, and chillers for meat or produce, draw power for long periods, much of it while the sun is up.
Grain drying and handling
Fans, dryers and conveyors run hard around harvest, in the months when panels make the most electricity.
Pumps, lighting and ventilation
Irrigation and water pumps, workshop machinery, and the lighting and ventilation in poultry and livestock sheds.
Large roofs
Barns, sheds, stores and workshops often have big roof areas with room for a sizeable system.
Land to spare
Where roofs are unsuitable, panels can sometimes go on the ground near the farm's electricity supply.
What the survey checks on a farm
Before the visit, we ask about ownership, your energy spend, the roof or land and your supply. At the survey, the installer looks at the detail.
Roof structure and materials
Whether the barn or shed roof can carry panels, its condition and age, and whether older roof sheets need an asbestos assessment first.
When the farm uses power
Your bills, or half-hourly data if the supply has it, show how much electricity is used in daylight and through the seasons.
The electricity supply
The supply and meter the farm has now, and whether a larger system needs the network operator's approval before it connects.
Ground-mounted options
For panels on the ground: the area, the ground conditions, the cable route back to the supply, and planning.
Shading and orientation
Which roof faces and areas of land get the most sun, and what trees, silos or other buildings shade them.
Ownership and tenancy
Whether you own the farm, or rent it and your landlord is willing to agree to an installation.
Before you start: farm solar questions
Self-use decides the saving. A unit of electricity the farm uses itself saves the full price you pay for it. A unit exported to the grid earns an export payment under the Smart Export Guarantee, at a rate set by your supplier, which is usually far lower. So the more of the panels' output the farm uses in daylight, the better the return.
Grants have come and gone. Defra's Improving Farm Productivity grant round 2 funded solar PV systems, and it is now closed. Capital allowances can still reduce the tax a farming business pays on the cost. Our guide to solar panel grants for businesses sets out what is open and what has closed, each checked against the official source.
Compare like with like. When you have the installer's proposal, check the system size in kWp, the estimated yearly generation, how much of it they expect the farm to use, the equipment, the warranties and what the price includes. Our commercial solar cost guide explains what goes into the price.
Your own power, not a land lease. This page is about panels that supply the farm. Renting land to a developer for a large solar farm is a separate arrangement that we don't arrange.
How we choose your installer
- 1We talk to you about the site and how the business uses electricity.
- 2Installers who cover your area see the project without your name or contact details.
- 3Our team picks the one best placed for it, by area, the size of the job and MCS certification.
- 4Only that installer gets your details, and they book the survey with you.
- 5Not right for you? Tell us.
What we check before we match you
- MCS certification: current, and on the MCS installer register.
- Other accreditations they hold, for example NICEIC or NAPIT, RECC and TrustMark. We favour installers with more relevant accreditations.
- Their customer reviews on public review sites.
- How long they have been trading, and that the company is active at Companies House with its accounts filed.
- Stability: no frequent changes of directors in recent years.
- That they cover your area and do jobs of your size.
If an installer doesn't meet these, we don't match them.
How it works
Four steps from a short call to a survey at your site.
- 1
Book a call
Fill in the short form. A member of our UK team calls you to ask about the site and how the business uses electricity.
- 2
We check it's a fit
Ownership or landlord consent, your energy spend, the roof or land and your electricity supply, so nobody's time is wasted.
- 3
Matched with one installer
Installers who cover your area see the project without your name or contact details. Our team picks the one best placed for it, and only they get your details.
- 4
Your free site survey
The installer visits at a time that suits you, looks at the site and gives you their proposal. Whether you go ahead is up to you.
What it costs
The survey is free. Your business pays nothing for the call or the site survey, and there is no obligation to go ahead. If you choose to install, you agree the price and terms directly with the installer.
The cost of a system depends on its size, the roof or land and the electricity connection. Our guide to what commercial solar panels cost explains what sets the price, with the government's published cost data and two worked examples. For tax relief and funding, see solar panel grants for businesses.
Solar panels for farms: FAQs
Are solar panels worth it on a farm?
It depends on how much of the power the farm uses itself. Electricity used on site saves the full unit rate, while exported electricity earns a much lower export rate. Farms that milk, cool, dry or store produce through the day tend to use more of their own power. The installer works it out from your bills or half-hourly data at the survey.
Are there grants for solar panels on farms?
Defra's Improving Farm Productivity grant round 2 included solar PV, but it is closed for applications. When we checked on 2 November 2026, Defra's funding for farmers page listed no open grant for solar panels. Tax relief through capital allowances may still apply. Our solar grants guide lists what is open and what has closed, with the official sources.
Can solar panels go on an old barn or shed roof?
Often, but the installer has to check the roof's structure and condition first. Some older farm buildings have asbestos cement roof sheets, which need specialist assessment before anyone works on them. If the roof is not suitable, panels on the ground may be an option.
Can we put solar panels on a field instead of a roof?
Ground-mounted panels are possible where there is spare land near the farm's electricity supply. The installer checks the ground, the cable route back to the supply, and whether planning permission is needed.
Is this the same as leasing land for a solar farm?
No. This page is about panels that power your own farm. Leasing land to a developer for a large solar farm is a different arrangement, with its own planning, legal and tax questions, and is not something we arrange.
We rent the farm. Can we still have solar?
Often, yes, but your landlord needs to agree, because panels are fixed to the buildings or land. We ask about this on the first call so it can be raised early.
Is the farm survey really free?
Yes. The survey costs the farm nothing and there is no obligation to go ahead. If you install, you agree the price and terms directly with the installer.
Book a free farm solar survey
Tell us about the farm and the site. We'll call to go through the checks, then arrange the survey with one MCS certified installer that covers your area.
- Free to your business
- No obligation
- Your details go to one installer only
Your sector
Solar for other kinds of business site, and our guides for business owners. Commercial solar for businesses
- Warehouses and logisticsLarge roofs, with lighting, chillers and charging on site.
- Factories and manufacturingMachinery and processes that run through the working day.
- Hotels and hospitalityHotels, B&Bs and holiday parks with kitchens, laundry and long hours.
- OfficesWeekday occupancy, with lighting, IT, heating and cooling.
- Schools, academies and collegesTerm-time daytime demand, with the DfE buying route and funding.
Guides for business owners
- What commercial solar panels costWhat sets the price, government cost data and two worked examples.
- Solar panel grants for businessesWhat is open, what has closed and the tax reliefs, from official sources.
- Capital allowances on solar panelsWhich allowance a business can claim, from HMRC's own guidance.
- Commercial solar paybackWhat makes payback shorter or longer, with two worked examples.
- Commercial solar system sizesFrom 10 kW to 1 MW: what each size suits and what changes the rules.
- The commercial solar site surveyWhat a survey checks, what you get back and how to prepare.
- Choosing a commercial solar installerHow to check an installer and compare two quotes.
- Solar PPAs for businessesSolar with no upfront cost: how a rooftop PPA works.
- Commercial battery storageWhen a battery adds value to a business's solar, and when it doesn't.
- Solar carports and car park canopiesCar parks as a second roof: planning, EV charging and the survey.
- Solar on an asbestos cement roofOverclad, replace or leave alone, and safe access on fragile roofs.
- Flat roof solar for businessesBallasted or fixed, membranes, wind loading and metal roofs.
- Ground mounted solarWhen a field array beats a roof, and the planning limits in each nation.
- Commercial solar financeCash, loans, hire purchase, leases or a PPA, and who claims the tax relief.
- How much solar does my business need?Sizing from your daytime use and half-hourly data, not the roof.
- Planning permission for commercial solarPermitted development, prior approval over 50 kW and the rules in each nation.
- Grants for solar on farmsFETF, DAERA and the closed schemes, checked on the official pages.
- Solar support in ScotlandBusiness Energy Scotland, the SME Loan Scheme and planning in Scotland.
- Renewable energy for businessOn-site solar, green tariffs and REGOs, and how each is reported.
- Solar on leased commercial propertyLandlord consent, green leases, PPAs, roof leases and MEES.