A 1 acre solar farm in the UK holds far less than most guides claim. Solar Energy UK puts existing UK solar farms at about six acres per megawatt, so one acre carries roughly 170 kW of panels, makes about 180,000 kWh a year, and costs roughly £88,000–£131,000 at large-farm prices. Below: what an acre earns leased or owned, what a 1 MW site makes, planning, and what to check if you are looking at solar farms for sale.
SolarPanelsForFarms.uk is an independent guide, not an installer or developer. Figures are sourced in the table at the foot of the page; checked 14 October 2026.
How much solar fits on 1 acre?
A solar farm is not a field paved with panels. Rows are spaced so that one row does not shade the next in winter, with tracks for maintenance, fencing, inverters and a substation compound. Solar Energy UK, the trade body, puts existing UK solar farms at about six acres of land per megawatt (as reported by Carbon Brief in August 2022) — about 2.4 hectares per MW.
Turned round, that is about 0.17 MW, or 170 kW, per acre. With panels of 450–550 W, one acre carries roughly 300–370 panels. Newer, higher-wattage panels and different row spacing move the number a little, but six acres per MW is the published UK benchmark.
| Land | Capacity | Panels (450–550 W) | Output a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 acre (0.4 ha) | ≈ 170 kW | ≈ 300–370 | ≈ 180,000 kWh |
| 6 acres (2.4 ha) | ≈ 1 MW | ≈ 1,800–2,200 | ≈ 1,070 MWh |
| 30 acres (12 ha) | ≈ 5 MW | ≈ 9,100–11,100 | ≈ 5,350 MWh |
Capacity from Solar Energy UK's six acres per MW. Output from the 12.2% net load factor in Arup's 2025 study for DESNZ (11.5–14.5% across its sample), before degradation.
Energy output of a 1 acre solar farm
Arup's study of UK solar farms for DESNZ found a net load factor of 12.2% in the first year, with 11.5% and 14.5% as its low and high cases. A load factor of 12.2% means about 1,070 kWh a year for each kW of panels, so an acre of about 170 kW makes about 180,000 kWh a year (roughly 170,000–210,000 kWh across Arup's range). PVGIS, the European Commission's solar model, gives a similar picture for a fixed array at 30° — from about 985 kWh per kW near Evesham to about 1,110 near Thanet in Kent.
At Ofgem's typical household consumption of 2,500 kWh a year (the value in use since 1 July 2026), 180,000 kWh is the electricity of around 70 homes. Output falls slowly as panels age: the developers in Arup's sample assumed 0.3% a year (0.29–0.45%).
How much does a 1 acre solar farm cost in the UK?
The best public cost evidence for UK solar farms is the study Arup completed for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in July 2025, which surveyed developers of solar farms above 5 MW. Its total capital cost, in 2023 prices, was £526–£788 per kW (£659 central), made up of pre-development (£12–£59 per kW), construction (£423–£601) and infrastructure — grid connection, substation and similar works — at £91–£129 per kW.
| Cost (2023 prices) | Per kW (low–high) | One acre ≈ 170 kW | 1 MW ≈ 6 acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-development (surveys, planning, design) | £12–£59 | £2,000–£9,800 | £12,000–£59,000 |
| Construction (panels, mounting, cabling, inverters) | £423–£601 | £70,500–£100,200 | £423,000–£601,000 |
| Infrastructure (grid connection, substation) | £91–£129 | £15,200–£21,500 | £91,000–£129,000 |
| Total | £526–£788 | £88,000–£131,000 | £526,000–£788,000 |
Arup for DESNZ, Table 41 (solar PV above 5 MWp), 2023 real prices. Per-acre and per-MW columns are those figures multiplied out; the columns are rounded and may not add exactly.
Treat the acre and 1 MW columns as a floor. Arup's smallest project was 11 MW and its typical one 52 MW; a site of an acre or a few acres still needs a grid connection, fencing, surveys and a planning application, spread over far fewer panels. For a sense of the other end, DESNZ's statistics put the median cost of 10–50 kW installations at £1,262 per kW in 2025/26 (VAT included where charged), which would be about £210,000 for 170 kW. Get itemised quotes; the grid connection offer is usually the number that decides the project.
Running costs
Arup put operating costs at £6,500–£12,300 per MW a year (£9,300 central): maintenance and monitoring £4,500–£7,600, insurance £800–£2,700, and network connection and use-of-system charges £1,100–£2,000. That excludes land rent, business rates and community-benefit payments. For one acre, it is roughly £1,100–£2,100 a year.
Solar farm profit & income per acre (UK 2026)
There are two different ways to make money from an acre of solar, and they answer different questions. Lease the land to a developer and you earn a rent, with no capital or operating risk. Own the array and you earn the value of the electricity, but you carry the capital, the running costs and the price risk.
The rent: what developers pay landowners
Published figures are older than most guides admit, so here they are with their dates. Law firm Stephens Scown quoted subsidy-free solar rents of £850–£1,100 per acre per year, varying with site size and location, with revenue top-ups that often reach around 4–6% of the developer's revenue (page last reviewed September 2023). A Carter Jonas energy adviser told Farmers Weekly in June 2020 that rents for large solar farms "should be in excess of £800/acre, and can be £1,000/acre", that any revenue share should at least match the base rent, and that battery storage on the same site should attract an additional rent per megawatt. Leases are long: Stephens Scown says generally 30–50 years, and the Carter Jonas adviser said developers typically seek at least 35.
Option, lease and indexation: what to agree
A solar lease usually starts with an option: the developer pays for the exclusive right to seek planning permission and a grid connection, and only takes the lease if both arrive. Stephens Scown notes that construction should take place within one to three years of the option being completed. During that time the land is tied up and the developer can walk away, so the option terms matter as much as the rent. Points to settle in the heads of terms:
- ✓ Option payments — what is paid while the developer seeks consents, and for how long the option can run.
- ✓ Rent and indexation — the starting rent per acre, whether it rises with RPI or CPI, and how often it is reviewed.
- ✓ Revenue top-up — a share of the developer's revenue if it beats the acreage rent (Stephens Scown cites around 4–6%; the Carter Jonas adviser's view was that any revenue share should at least match the base rent).
- ✓ Batteries — an additional rent per megawatt if storage is added to the site.
- ✓ Term and the end — the lease length (30–50 years is the range Stephens Scown gives), break rights, and who removes the equipment and reinstates the land, backed by what security.
- ✓ Farm payments and tax — land under a solar array is non-agricultural for the Rural Payments Agency (code UT01); take advice on scheme agreements and on the tax treatment of the land before signing.
A 35-year worked example (illustrative)
Take a 50-acre block let for 35 years — the minimum term the Carter Jonas adviser said developers typically seek — at the two ends of the Stephens Scown range. The 2.5% a year column is an assumption to show what indexation does, not a forecast.
| Starting rent | Year 1 (50 acres) | 35 years, no indexation | 35 years, rising 2.5% a year | Per acre over 35 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £850 an acre | £42,500 | £1.49 million | £2.33 million | £29,750–£46,700 |
| £1,100 an acre | £55,000 | £1.93 million | £3.02 million | £38,500–£60,400 |
Illustrative only: rent figures from Stephens Scown (last reviewed September 2023); before tax, and before any option payments or revenue top-up. Real indexation follows the index and review pattern written into the lease.
The output: what an owned acre earns
The price for the electricity decides everything. Two published benchmarks:
- Contracts for Difference. In Allocation Round 7 (results published 10 February 2026), 157 solar farms totalling 4,905 MW won a strike price of £65.23/MWh in 2024 prices. CfDs are only for solar farms above 5 MW.
- The Smart Export Guarantee. Business export rates read on suppliers' pages in October 2026 ran from about 3p to 15p per kWh: EDF offered 15p on a one-year fix to its own electricity customers (up to 5 MW) and 3.0p on its variable tariff to anyone; British Gas offered up to 8p to supplied customers and 3p to others.
| Route (one acre ≈ 170 kW) | Income a year | Capital | Who carries the risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lease the acre to a developer | £850–£1,100 rent | None | Developer |
| Own it, export at 3p/kWh | ≈ £5,300 gross | ≈ £88,000–£131,000+ | You |
| Own it, at the AR7 CfD price (£65.23/MWh) | ≈ £11,600 gross | ≈ £88,000–£131,000+ | You |
| Own it, export at 15p/kWh | ≈ £26,700 gross | ≈ £88,000–£131,000+ | You |
Gross income before running costs of about £1,100–£2,100 an acre (Arup), business rates, finance and tax; 180,000 kWh a year from about 170 kW. A one-acre array cannot win a CfD (above 5 MW only) — the CfD row shows what the market's largest new farms are paid.
Using the farm's own electricity changes the arithmetic most. Every unit used on site saves the import price, which is usually several times an export rate, so an acre of panels beside a grain store, dairy or packhouse that runs in daylight is worth far more than the same acre exporting. Our guide to farm solar panel costs covers that route.
A simple payback, owned
As an illustration only: at Arup's central cost (£659 per kW, about £110,000 an acre) and running cost (£9,300 per MW a year), an acre selling at the AR7 CfD price would clear about £10,100 a year before rent, rates, finance and tax — a simple payback of about 11 years. Change the export price, the build cost or the share used on site and that figure moves a long way.
How much money does a 1 MW solar farm make in the UK?
A 1 MW solar farm needs about six acres. Using Arup's figures, it makes about 1,070 MWh a year, costs about £526,000–£788,000 to build at large-farm prices (more on a site this small) and about £6,500–£12,300 a year to run.
- Leased to a developer — about £5,100–£6,600 a year in rent for six acres at £850–£1,100 an acre, with no capital outlay, no operating risk and no share of the generation unless the lease includes a revenue top-up.
- Owned, exporting everything — about £32,000–£160,000 a year gross across business export rates of 3p–15p per kWh, or about £70,000 at the £65.23/MWh large CfD farms receive.
- Owned, using part of the output on the farm — the only route that reliably beats export, because each unit used displaces the import price.
What people miss. A 1 MW site needs a G99 connection agreed with the network operator before equipment is ordered, and the connection offer — including any reinforcement — is the biggest single reason a 1 MW appraisal stalls. It needs planning permission as major development (the site is over 1 hectare), and the land under it stops counting as agricultural for farm payments (Rural Payments Agency code UT01).
Solar farms for sale in the UK: what you are buying
Searches for solar farms for sale come from two directions: investors looking to buy an operating farm, and landowners looking for a developer to buy or lease their land. The first is a niche market run through specialist brokers, developers and land agents; the second is the lease route above.
Most operating UK solar farms on the market fall into three groups, and the group decides the value:
- Renewables Obligation (RO) farms. The RO closed to new capacity on 31 March 2017, but Ofgem issues certificates to accredited stations for 20 years, so the last RO solar farms are supported into the late 2030s. The remaining years of support are worth checking before anything else.
- Feed-in Tariff (FIT) sites. FIT closed to new applicants in 2019; existing sites keep their tariff for their support period.
- Subsidy-free and CfD farms. Newer farms sell their output under power purchase agreements or a Contract for Difference: the AR7 projects are due to connect in 2027/28 and 2028/29.
What to check before buying a solar farm
- ✓ Remaining subsidy or contract term, and what the output is worth when it ends.
- ✓ The lease: years left, rent and its indexation, any revenue top-up, and the landowner's break rights.
- ✓ The grid connection agreement: export capacity, curtailment terms and who owns the substation.
- ✓ Generation history against a model such as PVGIS, and degradation against the 0.3% a year Arup's sample assumed.
- ✓ Operating costs against Arup's £6,500–£12,300 per MW a year, plus business rates and insurance.
- ✓ Planning conditions, including the consented operating life and decommissioning and reinstatement obligations.
- ✓ Inverter age and the plan and budget for replacing them.
UK solar farms in numbers
- Land: Solar Energy UK estimated that ground-mounted solar covered about 230 km² in 2022 — just under 0.1% of UK land.
- New farms: AR7 (February 2026) awarded CfDs to 157 solar farms totalling 4,905 MW, 4,247 MW of it in England, at £65.23/MWh against an administrative ceiling of £75 (both in 2024 prices).
- Size: the typical project in Arup's 2025 cost sample was 52 MW (range 11–225 MW).
- Consent: since 31 December 2025, only solar farms above 100 MW in England need a development consent order; below that, the council decides.
What makes land suitable for a solar farm?
- ✓ Grid connection — the decisive factor. A connection the network operator can offer at an affordable cost and date; grid connection and substation works were about 18% of capex in Arup's sample.
- ✓ Land grade — planning weighs the loss of best and most versatile agricultural land (grades 1, 2 and 3a), so poorer land is easier to consent.
- ✓ Open, unshaded ground — flat or south-facing, without heritage, landscape or flood constraints.
- ✓ Size — enough acres to justify the connection: about six acres for each MW.
- ✓ A use for the power — for a farm-owned array, daytime demand on site makes a small one far more valuable.
Is a 1 acre solar farm worth it in the UK?
As a stand-alone solar farm exporting to the grid, rarely. One acre carries about 170 kW, which is too small to justify the grid connection, surveys and planning work that a developer spreads across tens of megawatts — and too small to win a CfD. As hosted land, an acre earns rent only as part of a larger block a developer wants. As farm-owned generation, an acre of panels beside a daytime load — a grain store, dairy, packhouse or cold store — can make sense, because the farm uses what it makes. Compare that with putting the same capacity on farm building roofs, which needs no land at all.
Planning Permission for a 1 Acre Solar Farm
In England, permitted development for stand-alone solar on non-domestic land (Class K of Part 14 of the General Permitted Development Order 2015) covers only one array of no more than 9 square metres, so an acre of panels needs a planning application. The council's target for deciding it depends on the site: 8 weeks for a site under 1 hectare (one acre is 0.4 ha) and 13 weeks for major development, which includes any site of 1 hectare or more — a 1 MW farm of about six acres is about 2.4 hectares. Expect to supply a landscape and visual assessment, an agricultural land classification, ecology and flood information, and a glint-and-glare study for neighbours and roads.
Since 31 December 2025, only solar farms above 100 MW in England go through the national development consent process; everything smaller is decided by the council. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own systems.
Grazing under a solar farm
Sheep can graze under conventional ground-mounted panels, which keeps the grass down without machinery. Expect less grass: a Lancaster University and UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology study of a solar park near Swindon (Armstrong and colleagues, 2016) found the ground under the panels up to 5.2°C cooler and drier in summer, with less plant biomass and fewer species. Land under a solar array also has its own Rural Payments Agency land-use code, UT01, which the RPA lists as a non-agricultural use. For crops under raised panels, see what the trials found about crop growth.
Where these figures come from
| Claim | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Land per MW | ≈ 6 acres (≈ 2.4 ha) | Solar Energy UK, as reported by Carbon Brief, 25 Aug 2022 |
| Ground-mounted solar area | ≈ 230 km², just under 0.1% of UK land | Solar Energy UK, as reported by Carbon Brief, 25 Aug 2022 |
| Capital cost, solar farms above 5 MW | £526–£788 per kW (£659 central) | Arup for DESNZ, final report 14 Jul 2025, Table 41 (2023 prices) |
| Running costs | £6,500–£12,300 per MW a year | Arup for DESNZ, Table 41 |
| Net load factor; degradation; lifetime | 12.2% (11.5–14.5%); 0.3%/yr; 35–40 yrs | Arup for DESNZ, sections 6.4–6.5 |
| Small-system cost | £1,262 per kW median, 10–50 kW, 2025/26 | DESNZ, Solar PV cost data |
| CfD solar strike price | £65.23/MWh (2024 prices); 157 projects, 4,905 MW | DESNZ, CfD Allocation Round 7a results, 10 Feb 2026 |
| Business export rates | ≈ 3p–15p per kWh | EDF and British Gas SEG pages, read 6 Oct 2026 |
| Land rents | £850–£1,100/acre; top-ups 4–6%; 30–50 yr leases | Stephens Scown (last reviewed 27 Sep 2023) |
| Land rents | > £800/acre, can be £1,000; ≥ 35 yr leases | Farmers Weekly business clinic, 1 Jun 2020 |
| Typical household use | 2,500 kWh a year | Ofgem typical domestic consumption values, from 1 Jul 2026 |
| Planning determination targets | 8 weeks; 13 weeks for major (site ≥ 1 ha) | Development Management Procedure Order 2015, arts 2 and 34 |
| National consent threshold | Above 100 MW, from 31 Dec 2025 | The Infrastructure Planning (Onshore Wind and Solar Generation) Order 2025 |
| RO closure; support term | 31 Mar 2017; 20 years | Ofgem, 31 Mar 2017 |
| Solar yield cross-check | ≈ 985–1,110 kWh per kW a year at 30° | PVGIS v5.3 (Evesham, Thanet), queried Oct 2026 |
Per-acre figures are derived: capacity from six acres per MW, output from the 12.2% load factor, money from the costs and prices above.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 1 acre solar farm cost in the UK?
One acre holds about 170 kW of a typical UK solar farm (Solar Energy UK puts existing farms at about six acres per MW). At the costs Arup found for solar farms above 5 MW for DESNZ (£526-£788 per kW, 2023 prices) that capacity costs roughly £88,000-£131,000. A stand-alone one-acre array costs more per kW, because grid connection, fencing, planning and design are spread over far fewer panels.
How many acres do you need for a 1 MW solar farm?
About six acres (roughly 2.4 hectares). That is the ratio Solar Energy UK gives for existing UK solar farms, allowing for row spacing, access tracks, inverters and the substation compound. Newer, higher-wattage panels can put a little more capacity on the same land.
How much money does a 1 MW solar farm make in the UK?
It depends on who owns it. A landowner leasing the six or so acres to a developer earns rent: at the £850-£1,100 an acre quoted by Stephens Scown that is about £5,100-£6,600 a year. An owner earns from the electricity: about 1,070 MWh a year (Arup's 12.2% net load factor) is worth about £70,000 at the £65.23/MWh that large CfD solar farms won in February 2026, before running costs of about £6,500-£12,300 a year, rent, business rates, finance and tax.
How much money does 1 acre of solar panels make in the UK?
Leased to a developer, the acre earns the rent: £850-£1,100 a year on the range Stephens Scown quotes for subsidy-free schemes. Owned, its roughly 170 kW produces about 180,000 kWh a year, worth about £11,600 at the AR7 CfD price of £65.23/MWh (which only farms above 5 MW can win) or £5,300-£26,700 across business export rates of 3p-15p per kWh, before running costs and the capital to build it.
Solar farm profit per acre UK — how much is it?
For a landowner, profit is the rent: about £850-£1,100 an acre a year, sometimes topped up with a share of revenue (Stephens Scown cites 4-6% of the developer's revenue). For an owner, an acre's output is worth about £11,600 a year at the AR7 CfD price, less about £1,100-£2,100 of running costs on Arup's figures, and before rent, rates, finance and tax on roughly £88,000-£131,000 of capital.
How much do solar farms pay per acre to landowners?
Published figures cluster around £800-£1,100 an acre a year for large ground-mounted schemes: Stephens Scown quoted subsidy-free rents of £850-£1,100 an acre (page last reviewed September 2023), and a Carter Jonas adviser told Farmers Weekly in 2020 that rents should exceed £800 an acre and can reach £1,000. Rents vary with the grid connection, the site and the developer.
How many solar panels fit on 1 acre?
About 300-370 panels, if each is 450-550 W. That follows from the six acres per MW Solar Energy UK gives for existing UK solar farms: one acre carries about 170 kW once rows are spaced for access and to stop one row shading the next.
How much electricity does a 1 acre solar farm generate per year?
About 180,000 kWh a year from roughly 170 kW, using the 12.2% net load factor Arup found for UK solar farms (11.5-14.5% across its sample). That is about the annual electricity of 70 homes on Ofgem's typical consumption of 2,500 kWh. Output falls slowly with age: Arup's sample assumed 0.3% a year.
Is a 1 acre solar farm worth it in the UK?
As a stand-alone solar farm, rarely: developers want sites large enough to justify a grid connection, and one acre carries only about 170 kW. One acre of panels makes most sense beside a farm load that can use the power directly, where every unit saves the import price. For hosting, the value lies in a larger block let to a developer.
How much does it cost to build a solar farm per acre?
About £88,000-£131,000 per acre at the large-farm costs Arup reported for DESNZ (£526-£788 per kW in 2023 prices, about 170 kW per acre). Arup's figures split into about 82% construction and 18% grid connection, substation and other infrastructure. Smaller sites cost more per kW.
How long does a solar farm lease last?
Long. Stephens Scown says leasing arrangements are generally over 30-50 years, and a Carter Jonas adviser told Farmers Weekly that developers typically seek at least 35 years. Arup's cost study assumed solar farms operate for 35-40 years.
Do I need planning permission for a 1 acre solar farm?
Yes. In England, permitted development for a stand-alone array covers one array of no more than 9 square metres (Class K), so an acre of panels needs a planning application. On a site under 1 hectare the council's target is 8 weeks; a site of 1 hectare or more is major development, with a 13-week target. Only solar farms above 100 MW go through the national (DCO) process, since 31 December 2025.
Can I graze sheep under a 1 acre solar farm?
Yes, sheep can graze under conventional ground-mounted panels, but the grass grows less: a Lancaster University study of a solar park near Swindon found the ground under the panels up to 5.2°C cooler and drier in summer, with less plant biomass. Land under a solar array also has its own Rural Payments Agency land-use code, UT01, listed as a non-agricultural use.
Are there solar farms for sale in the UK?
Yes. Operational solar farms change hands through specialist brokers and land agents. Most older ones carry subsidy: the Renewables Obligation closed to new capacity on 31 March 2017 but pays accredited stations for 20 years, and the Feed-in Tariff closed to new applicants in 2019. The remaining subsidy term, lease, grid connection and generation record drive the price.
What price do UK solar farms get for their electricity?
Large new solar farms that won a Contract for Difference in Allocation Round 7 (results 10 February 2026) get a strike price of £65.23/MWh in 2024 prices — 157 projects totalling 4,905 MW, all above 5 MW. Smaller sites sell through a power purchase agreement or the Smart Export Guarantee: business SEG rates read in October 2026 ran from about 3p to 15p per kWh depending on supplier.
What makes land suitable for a solar farm?
Above all, a grid connection the network operator can offer at an affordable cost: grid connection and substation works made up about 18% of capex in Arup's sample. Then flat or south-facing open land, no heritage or flood constraints, and land the council will accept — planning weighs the loss of best and most versatile agricultural land (grades 1, 2 and 3a).
Related guides: agricultural solar panel cost · agricultural solar PPAs · farm solar grants.