Agrivoltaics: solar and farming on the same field

Agrivoltaics in the UK: key facts for 2026

What is agrivoltaics (agri PV)?

Agrivoltaics (also written agri-voltaics, and called agri PV or agrisolar) is the dual use of land for solar power and agriculture. The panels are laid out, raised or spaced so the land under and between them keeps producing food: grass for sheep, arable crops, soft fruit or orchards.

The government's Solar Roadmap puts it like this: "Solar and farming in combination can provide further financial opportunities, food production and environmental benefits through shared use of land. Many solar projects are designed to enable continued livestock grazing. Agrivoltaics, the integration of solar with arable farming, is also a rapidly developing industry, and government is working to understand the opportunities to exploit this technology."

If you have sound barn roofs, start there: it's the quickest and cheapest route. See solar panels for farms. This page is about putting solar on the land itself, without taking it out of farming.

Agrivoltaic formats in the UK: elevated, vertical, inter-row and grazing

There's no single agri PV design. The right one depends on what you farm, the machinery you run and how much power you want.

A good designer starts from the farming system, then fits the panels to it, not the other way round. That's also what a planning officer will want to see when you argue the land stays in agricultural use.

Solar grazing: sheep under solar panels

Solar grazing is the most established form of agrivoltaics in the UK. The Solar Roadmap's own case study is a 3.6MW site on about 20 acres of moderate-quality land in North Norfolk that still grazes 40 ewes and their lambs from April to October.

• Sheep, not cattle, as standard. Most ground-mounted arrays are designed with sheep in mind. Cattle and horses rub on frames and can damage low-mounted panels, so they need a taller, stronger design. Tell the designer what you graze before anything is drawn.
• Cables and edges. Exposed cables and sharp panel edges are a livestock risk. Ask for buried or protected cable runs and the clearance under the lowest panel edge.
• Water and handling. Plan troughs, gates and handling pens into the layout. Gathering sheep through rows of panels is slower than in an open field.
• Who manages the grass. On a developer-led site, the lease should say who grazes, who pays whom, and what happens if the grass isn't kept down.
• Stewardship payments. GOV.UK's Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier guide says parcels with solar panels generating electricity for use off-farm are not eligible. Check any existing agreement, and ask the RPA how an array affects your Sustainable Farming Incentive land before you commit.

Planning permission for agrivoltaics: why permitted development won't cover it

Roof-mounted solar on farm buildings is usually permitted development in England. Ground-mounted solar is a different story. The only permitted development right for stand-alone solar on non-domestic land is Class K of Part 14 of the General Permitted Development Order, and it is small:

So any field-scale agrivoltaic scheme in England needs a full planning application to the local planning authority. In England, solar schemes over 100MW go to the national Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) regime instead: the threshold rose from 50MW on 31 December 2025.

What a planning application will usually need

• An Agricultural Land Classification survey (see the next section).
• A clear explanation of the continued agricultural use: the grazing plan or cropping system, and how the design allows it.
• Landscape and visual impact, glint and glare, heritage, ecology and biodiversity net gain, drainage, construction traffic and a decommissioning plan.
• Evidence of a grid connection route.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own planning systems and thresholds, so check with the local planning authority there.

Best and most versatile land: what the August 2026 NPPF says

Land quality is the planning issue that decides most farmland solar applications. England grades farmland from 1 to 5 under the Agricultural Land Classification (ALC):

The new NPPF (17 August 2026)

The National Planning Policy Framework was republished on 17 August 2026 with national decision-making policies. Policy N2 says development proposals should "take into account the quality of agricultural land (including that classified as best and most versatile agricultural land, and its grade), and if significant development of agricultural land is necessary, use areas of poorer quality land where possible".

The framework also lists the May 2024 written ministerial statement "Solar and protecting our Food Security and Best and Most Versatile (BMV) Land" among statements whose planning content "has either been fully or partially incorporated within the National Planning Policy Framework or no longer represents up-to-date government policy". In plain terms: BMV land still counts against a scheme, but the test is now set by N2, not the 2024 statement. Your planning consultant should read both before quoting either.

Natural England and the 20 hectare trigger

Natural England's guidance says councils must consult it when a proposal that isn't in line with an approved development plan is likely to cause the loss, or cumulative loss, of 20 hectares or more of BMV land. Smaller losses can still weigh in the decision.

Get the ALC survey done properly

Don't rely on the old provisional maps. Natural England expects a detailed survey led by a soil specialist, normally with auger borings every hectare on a regular grid, up to 1.2m deep, plus inspection pits where the soil changes. A field that maps as grade 3 may split into 3a and 3b on survey, and that split can make or break an application.

Grid connection: the make-or-break for field-scale solar

Planning gets the headlines, but on many farms the grid connection is what decides the size of an agrivoltaic scheme, or whether it happens at all.

• Behind the meter. A smaller array wired into the farm's own supply, sized to dairy, cold store, grain drying or irrigation loads, saves you buying power. It still needs the distribution network operator's (DNO) approval, usually through a G99 application for anything beyond small systems.
• Export-led. A larger array that sells most of its output needs a connection offer with export capacity. Rural lines are often weak, and reinforcement can be costly and slow. Get a budget estimate from the DNO before spending on planning.
• Export limits. The DNO may approve a scheme only if export is capped. A battery can store the surplus for evening use. See commercial battery storage.
• Connections reform. In April 2025 Ofgem approved a reform of the connection process that reorders the queue to prioritise projects that are "ready" and "needed". A scheme with land rights and progress on planning is in a stronger position than an idea on a map.
• Selling the power. The Smart Export Guarantee pays for solar you export, on systems up to 5MW in Great Britain. Suppliers set their own rates; the law only says the rate must be above zero, so shop around.

See our farm solar grid guide for single-phase supplies and three-phase upgrades.

Own it, lease it or share it: three ways to do agri PV

The GBE Community Fund. The government's publicly owned company Great British Energy (gbe.gov.uk, which is not us) runs a £20 million community fund for incorporated community organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and ground-mounted solar is eligible. Projects must be at least 50% community owned when operating, so a privately owned farm business can't apply on its own. The current window closes on 12 November 2026 at 11:55pm.

Before you sign an option or lease with a developer, take advice from a land agent and a solicitor. For buying power from someone else's array instead, see commercial solar PPAs.

Tax, rates and inheritance: questions to take to your adviser

Capital allowances on a farm-owned array

HMRC's manual is explicit: "all capital expenditure on the provision of solar panels is specifically designated as special rate" (CA22335). So the AIA is the big lever. A company spending £150,000 on a rooftop system can usually deduct the whole lot from that year's profits, as long as the AIA hasn't been used up on other kit.

Many farms trade as sole traders or partnerships. They can use the Annual Investment Allowance, but the 50% first-year allowance is for companies only. Machinery bought in the same year shares the same AIA limit. See solar panels capital allowances.

Agricultural property relief: ask before you convert a field

HMRC's Inheritance Tax Manual says land "principally used for purposes other than agricultural" doesn't qualify for agricultural relief. The manual doesn't deal with solar, and whether a dual-use field still counts as agricultural is a question of fact for each case. Since 6 April 2026, 100% agricultural and business property relief is limited to a combined £2.5 million per person, with 50% relief above that. If the farm may pass to the next generation, talk to your tax adviser about relief, tenancy and the lease structure before you sign.

Business rates

GOV.UK lists agricultural land and buildings as exempt from business rates, but a solar array isn't agriculture. In England, plant and machinery used to generate or store power from on-site renewables (solar included, and batteries where the power stored is mainly or exclusively renewable) is excluded from rateable value until 1 April 2035. Wales (from 1 April 2024) and Scotland (from 1 April 2023) have equivalent exemptions running to 2035. Adding panels to your roof shouldn't raise your rates bill. Whether an export-led array on its own lease is rated separately is a question for a rating adviser.

VAT

Ordinary business premises pay 20% VAT on solar, batteries and heat pumps, which VAT-registered businesses can normally reclaim. The 0% rate is only for homes and buildings used solely for a relevant charitable purpose, and it runs to 31 March 2027.

How to get an agrivoltaics project quoted

What to prepare

• The fields you have in mind, with any existing ALC survey, and whether they're in a stewardship or SFI agreement.
• Your farming system on that land: stock type and numbers, rotation, machinery widths.
• Twelve months of electricity bills, and your supply capacity (single or three-phase).
• Who owns the land, any tenancies, and whether you want to own the scheme or lease it.
• Any constraints you know of: footpaths, listed buildings nearby, flood zones, protected landscapes.

Questions to ask agrivoltaics installers and developers

• Which format would you use here, and how does it fit my grazing or cropping?
• What's the realistic grid capacity, and have you asked the DNO for a budget estimate?
• Who commissions the ALC survey and planning work, and who pays if planning fails?
• What clearance, cable protection and fencing do you design for livestock?
• Are you MCS certified (needed for the Smart Export Guarantee on systems up to 50kW), and what are the warranties and maintenance terms?
• What's the decommissioning plan, and how will the land be restored?

1. Send us the basics using the form. It takes two minutes.
2. One suitable installer contacts you for a site visit. You won't be passed round a list.
3. Feasibility: format, size, grid check and planning risks, before you spend on surveys.
4. Surveys and planning application, then the DNO connection offer.
5. Build and commission, timed around lambing, harvest or the growing season.