The short answer for Telford & Shropshire: a 4kW south-facing system in Telford & Shropshire generates about 3,880 kWh a year on the EU's PVGIS model — about 5% less than London. Installed prices for that size run roughly £6,600–£7,800 on the UK government's 2025/26 cost data, and at October–December 2026 West Midlands electricity prices (25.60p/kWh) it is worth roughly £700 a year without a battery, or £800 if a battery lets you use most of it yourself.
Telford and Shrewsbury model exactly the same solar output per kW on PVGIS, so the difference between the new town and the county is the housing, not the sun. Telford and Wrekin has more semis and is mostly on mains gas; the rest of Shropshire has more detached and rural homes, and 15% of households there heat with oil alone. Two councils cover the area: Telford & Wrekin Council and Shropshire Council.
How much a solar panel system generates in Telford & Shropshire
The table uses the European Commission's PVGIS tool for Shrewsbury: crystalline panels at a 35° pitch, with PVGIS's standard 14% allowance for system losses and the local horizon. Your installer's MCS estimate will differ a little because MCS uses its own irradiance tables and your actual pitch and shading, but the gap between places and orientations is what matters here.
| Roof faces | Per kW | 3kW system | 4kW system | 6kW system |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South | 971 kWh | 2,910 kWh | 3,880 kWh | 5,830 kWh |
| East | 772 kWh | 2,320 kWh | 3,090 kWh | 4,630 kWh |
| West | 768 kWh | 2,300 kWh | 3,070 kWh | 4,610 kWh |
Annual output, PVGIS 5.3 (SARAH3 satellite data, 2005–2023) for Shrewsbury, fetched 30 October 2026. Actual output varies year to year.
Of the 25 areas we cover, Telford & Shropshire ranks 15th for south-facing yield (Dorset is highest at 1,126 kWh per kW, Glasgow lowest at 853). The seasons matter as much as the location: in December a 4kW system here makes about 127 kWh for the whole month, against 476 kWh in June — which is why a battery is mostly a summer and shoulder-season tool, and why nobody should promise you winter bills near zero.
The table uses Shrewsbury; Telford models the same 971 kWh per kW a year, about 5% less than London. That is a small gap, and a good price per kW matters more here than the location. In the Shropshire Hills, a house tucked under a ridge or in a narrow valley can lose low winter sun, so trust the surveyor's shading check for your own roof.
What solar costs and saves in Telford & Shropshire
There is no separate "Telford & Shropshire price" for solar — installers price by system size, roof and access — so the fairest benchmark is the government's own cost series. Across domestic installations registered with MCS between April 2025 and March 2026, the average installed cost was £1,955 per kW for systems up to 4kW and £1,645 per kW for 4–10kW, VAT included and batteries excluded.
| System | Output in Telford & Shropshire | Typical installed price | Year-one value, no battery | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3kW | 2,910 kWh | £4,900–£5,900 | £500 | 10–12 years |
| 4kW | 3,880 kWh | £6,600–£7,800 | £700 | 10–12 years |
| 6kW | 5,830 kWh | £9,900–£11,700 | £1,000 | 10–12 years |
Price range: DESNZ Solar PV cost data (published 28 May 2026), each size priced between the 4–10kW average (£1,645/kW) and the up-to-4kW average (£1,955/kW); bigger systems tend towards the lower figure per kW. Value: south-facing PVGIS output, 40% used in the home at the West Midlands price-cap unit rate of 25.60p/kWh (1 October to 31 December 2026), the rest exported at 12p/kWh (the 12p rate several large suppliers pay their own import customers in September 2026). Payback ignores panel degradation, future price changes and inverter replacement.
Two things move those numbers more than anything about Telford & Shropshire itself. First, how much you use yourself: every unit you use saves 25.60p, every unit you export earns only what your export tariff pays — 12p in this illustration. Our illustration assumes you use 40% without a battery; with a battery taking that to around 70%, the same 4kW system is worth about £800 a year — but the battery adds several thousand pounds, so price it as its own line and judge it on its own payback (battery storage guide). Second, the export tariff: rates are set by suppliers, not Ofgem, and range widely — see the solar payback guide for current examples.
VAT on solar panels and batteries installed in homes is 0% until 31 March 2027 (how the relief works), so a quote that adds 20% VAT to a domestic install is wrong.
Telford & Shropshire homes and what they mean for your roof
Census 2021 counted 139,578 households in Shropshire: 33.5% semi-detached, 15.8% terraced, 41.0% detached and 8.9% flats or maisonettes, with 68.6% owner-occupied and 17.5% privately rented (England and Wales: 61.6% owned).
In the Shropshire Council area, with so many detached houses and so few flats, many roofs can take a 5–6kW system if your use justifies it. If your roof is natural slate or clay tile, it is slower to work on than concrete tile; ask how the brackets will be fixed and who pays for any broken tiles.
Telford and Wrekin is different. The Census counted 76,511 households there: 38% semi-detached, 31% detached and 20% terraced, with 60% owner-occupied and 21% privately rented. Most Telford semis and newer estate homes suit a 3–4kW system on one slope. If you rent, from a private landlord or a housing association, the landlord has to commission the work.
Heating splits the same way. 81% of Telford and Wrekin households use mains gas alone, against 58% in the rest of Shropshire, where 15% heat with oil alone and 3.3% with LPG (Census 2021). If you heat with oil, plan solar with a future heat pump in mind: see heat pump grants for oil and LPG homes.
Planning permission in Telford & Shropshire
For houses in England, roof-mounted solar is permitted development — no planning application — as long as the panels stand no more than 20cm proud of the roof slope and don't rise above the highest part of the roof. The main exceptions are listed buildings (which need listed building consent), panels mounted on a wall that faces a road in a conservation area, and properties where the council has removed permitted development rights with an Article 4 direction. Blocks of flats have their own, similar permitted development rules, but panels on a shared roof still need the freeholder's consent. The rules were last amended on 27 August 2026.
Shropshire Council says there are 128 conservation areas in its area (council page), and the Shropshire Hills National Landscape covers almost a quarter of the county (Shropshire Hills National Landscape). Telford & Wrekin Council has 8 conservation areas: Edgmond, High Ercall, Horsehay and Spring Village, Kynnersley, Newport, the Severn Gorge, Wellington and Wrockwardine (council page).
The one area where a blanket local rule changes things is the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. Telford & Wrekin Council has applied an Article 4 direction to all homes in its part of the site (WHS residents guide). Where the work fronts a highway, waterway or open space, the rights it removes include "the installation of solar panels and micro generation facilities on or attached to a dwelling" (council page), so panels on a roof slope or wall facing the road, the river or a public space need planning permission. The whole site is also in the Severn Gorge Conservation Area. If you live in Ironbridge or Coalbrookdale, talk to the council before paying for a survey.
Elsewhere, roof panels on a pitched roof stay permitted development, including in the Shropshire Hills. On a flat roof in the National Landscape, a conservation area or the World Heritage Site, you must apply to the council before work starts, so it can decide whether it needs to approve how the panels will look (GPDO Part 14, A.2(ba)). In a conservation area, panels can't go on a wall, balcony or roof enclosure facing a road, and a listed house always needs consent.
Connecting to the grid: National Grid Electricity Distribution (West Midlands)
Telford, Shrewsbury and the south of the county are on National Grid Electricity Distribution's West Midlands network and in the West Midlands price-cap region used in the tables above. North and north-west Shropshire is different: Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch, and most postcodes around Wem, Shawbury and Baschurch (SY10 to SY13 and much of SY4), are on SP Energy Networks and in the Merseyside and North Wales price-cap region (Ofgem), so their unit rate differs from the figure above. A few postcodes near the boundary go either way, and your installer will confirm which operator serves yours. Either way your installer deals with the network operator, and your electricity supplier is a separate company.
For a typical home system the installer handles this. A single-phase installation up to 3.68kW of inverter capacity (16 amps per phase) is connected under the G98 process and the network operator is notified within 28 days of commissioning. Anything larger — including a bigger system, or panels plus a battery whose combined inverter capacity passes that limit — goes through G99, which needs the network operator's approval before installation and can add weeks. Ask your installer which route your design needs and whether an export limit is being applied.
Getting a quote in Telford & Shropshire
Tell us about your home
Postcode, property type and how you'd pay. Two minutes.
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If an accredited (MCS-certified) installer covers your area, we'll pass your enquiry to them, and only them. They can arrange a roof survey and quote.
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Check it against the figures on this page. If it's out of range, you can say no. No obligation at any stage.
How your enquiry is handled
- One installer introduction, fulfilling your request. If an accredited (MCS-certified) installer covers your area, we'll pass your enquiry to them, and only them — not a list of companies.
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Get your solar quote in Telford & Shropshire
One MCS-certified installer who covers your postcode. Nothing is shared until you submit.
What the quote should show
- The installer's MCS certificate number — needed for a Smart Export Guarantee tariff — and their consumer code (RECC or HIES).
- Named panel and inverter make and model, with quantities, and the MCS performance estimate for your roof in kWh a year. Every saving quoted to you should come from that estimate.
- Scaffolding stated as included or excluded, and any battery priced as a separate line.
- No VAT added on a home installation (0% until 31 March 2027), warranty terms split out, and, if financed, the total repayable next to the cash price.
The full checklist is on the solar quotes page.
Questions from Telford & Shropshire homeowners
How much do solar panels cost in Telford?
There is no separate Telford price; installers price by system size, roof and access. The fairest benchmark is the government's cost data for MCS-registered installs, shown in the cost table on this page, and solar on homes is VAT-free until 31 March 2027. Compare quotes on the price per kW and on what is included.
Is Shropshire sunny enough for solar panels?
Yes. On PVGIS data a south-facing roof in Shrewsbury or Telford makes about 5% less per kW a year than the same roof in London, and east- or west-facing roofs still make about four-fifths of a south-facing one.
Do I need planning permission for solar panels in Ironbridge?
Very likely if the panels would face a road, the river or a public open space and you live in the Telford and Wrekin part of the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. The council's Article 4 direction covers all homes there and, where the work fronts a highway, waterway or open space, removes the right to install solar panels without permission. Panels on a hidden rear slope may still be permitted development. Ask the council first.
Do I need planning permission in the Shropshire Hills?
Not usually for panels on a pitched roof of a house. For panels on a flat roof in the National Landscape you must first apply to Shropshire Council to decide whether it needs to approve their appearance, and a listed house always needs consent.
Who is my network operator in Oswestry?
SP Energy Networks covers Oswestry, Ellesmere, Whitchurch and much of the north of the county. Telford, Shrewsbury and south Shropshire are on National Grid Electricity Distribution. Your MCS installer notifies or applies to the right one.
Other areas
- Solar in Birmingham
- Solar in Newcastle
- Solar in Manchester
- Solar in Bristol
- Solar in Sheffield
- Solar in Doncaster
- Solar in Nottingham
- Solar in Cornwall
- Solar in Aberdeen
- Solar in Cambridge
- Solar in Cardiff
- Solar in Derby
- Solar in Devon
- Solar in Dorset
- Solar in Edinburgh
- Solar in Essex
- Solar in Glasgow
- Solar in Hull
- Solar in Kent
- Solar in Leeds
- Solar in Leicester
- Solar in Liverpool
- Solar in London
- Solar in Norfolk
Heat pump pages: Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Doncaster, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Wales, and all heat pump quotes.
Solar for a shop, office, farm or factory instead? See commercial solar panels and the business energy audit guide.
Sources
- European Commission JRC, PVGIS 5.3 — grid-connected PV, Shrewsbury, 1kWp crystalline silicon, 35° slope, 14% system loss, south/east/west, SARAH3 2005–2023; queried 30 October 2026.
- Office for National Statistics, Census 2021 tables TS044 (accommodation type), TS046 (central heating), TS050 (bedrooms) and TS054 (tenure), local authority level, via Nomis.
- DESNZ, Solar PV cost data, updated 28 May 2026 — domestic, mean cost per kW, Total Installed Capacity basis, 2025/26 (Official Statistics in development).
- Ofgem, Changes to energy price cap between 1 October and 31 December 2026 (26 August 2026) and regional unit rates and standing charges; electricity at 0% VAT from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 (HMRC).
- Ofgem, Smart Export Guarantee: tariffs must be above zero; suppliers with 150,000+ domestic customers must offer one. Supplier export rates checked on supplier websites, 23 September 2026.
- HMRC, VAT Notice 708/6: 0% on installing energy-saving materials in homes, 1 May 2023 to 31 March 2027.
- Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2 Part 14 Class A, as amended to 27 August 2026.
- Network connection thresholds (G98 up to 16A per phase — 3.68kW single-phase; larger systems G99): SP Electricity North West; find your operator via the Energy Networks Association.
- Shropshire Council, conservation areas; Shropshire Hills National Landscape, a special place (checked 30 October 2026).
- Telford & Wrekin Council, conservation areas, planning restrictions in the Gorge World Heritage Site and World Heritage Site residents guide (checked 30 October 2026).
- Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2 Part 14 (as amended to 27 August 2026); Ofgem, price cap rates by region; network areas checked by postcode on the industry grid supply point lookup (30 October 2026).