Commercial solar installers in Blyth

Key facts

Where businesses are in Blyth

• Blyth Estuary strategic employment area: The largest contiguous area of industrial land in Northumberland, taking in the Port of Blyth's operational land, part of the former Bates Colliery and the former Blyth Power Station site, with policy focused on renewable energy, low carbon, port and offshore uses. The council's 2024 survey says about 143 of its roughly 290 hectares were undeveloped, much of it since permitted for a data centre campus.
• Blyth Riverside Business Park: An employment area along the south side of the Blyth estuary, north of the A193 Cowpen Road, with manufacturing, distribution, port supply chain, renewable energy and offshore firms.
• Port of Blyth: A trust port operated by Blyth Harbour Commission, with South Harbour, Battleship Wharf, Bates Clean Energy and SUF terminals, recognised as one of the UK's leading offshore energy support bases.

Large employers and sectors with sites here include:

• Offshore energy and port (Port of Blyth): The Port of Blyth handles heavy lifts up to 600 tonnes, runs a licensed decommissioning facility and is pursuing a £100m Battleship Wharf expansion to add capacity for clean energy.
• Data centres (QTS, Cambois): QTS is building a data centre campus of up to £10 billion on the former power station land at Cambois near Blyth, expected to create about 1,200 construction jobs and 400 operational jobs, and plans to start its first building in 2026.
• Subsea cable manufacturing (JDR): JDR Cable Systems says its new Blyth facility is now open; the £130 million Cambois factory was announced in 2021 with 171 local jobs.

Large, simple roofs on distribution sheds and modern industrial units are usually the quickest and cheapest to fit. Older mill, factory and workshop buildings can work well too, but often need a structural survey first, and roofs from before 2000 may contain asbestos cement: see asbestos roofs.

Enterprise, investment and freeport zones

• North East Investment Zone (Blyth Energy Central tax site): Designated with effect from 8 April 2024. Tax reliefs on the special tax site, including enhanced capital allowances, structures and buildings allowance, employer National Insurance relief and business rates relief, run until 30 September 2034.

These zones can bring business rates relief or enhanced capital allowances for eligible firms on qualifying sites; check the current terms with the zone before relying on them.

Grid connection

Blyth is served by Northern Powergrid (North East licence area). Almost every commercial system needs G99 approval from the network operator before it is switched on, and the question is usually how much the local network can take back. Where export is limited, a G100 export limitation scheme can let a larger array connect. See G99 and DNO applications.

Planning in Blyth

Blyth follows the national planning rules for England, decided by Northumberland council. Rooftop solar on most non-domestic buildings is permitted development, within height and edge limits, and systems above 50 kW need a prior approval application covering design and glare.

Points that come up locally:

• Blyth has the Blyth Central and Blyth Heritage conservation areas, both designated on 29 July 1979, and the Blyth Heritage area carries an Article 4 direction, so roofs in the older town centre and harbour area need more care.
• Northumberland Local Plan Policy REN 1 (adopted March 2022) supports renewable and low carbon energy proposals, including systems that supply energy to a development, where effects on landscape, heritage assets, amenity and the other listed criteria are shown to be acceptable or can be made so.

Our guides on listed buildings and conservation areas explain what these mean for a solar project.

What a business roof in Blyth could generate

Modelled with PVGIS for the town centre, a south-facing roof at 30 degrees produces about 934 kWh per kWp a year.

Illustrative, not a quote: the same sums as our commercial solar calculator. A company paying corporation tax can usually shorten the payback with capital allowances.

Funding and support

We found no council or regional grant for business solar open in Blyth at the time of writing (November 2026). National reliefs still apply, such as capital allowances and, in England, the business rates exemption for onsite renewables: see grants and reliefs in England.

Solar across Northumberland

At the end of 2025, Northumberland had 14,650 solar PV installations with 64.7 MW of capacity, up 114% since 2020, according to government figures. The Northumberland page has the full local figures and how they compare.

Nearby towns

• Cramlington, about 4 miles away
• Ashington, about 4 miles away
• Morpeth, about 7 miles away
• South Shields, about 9 miles away

Sources

• ons.gov.uk: census2021
• ons.gov.uk: datadownload.xlsx
• northumberland.gov.uk: Employment Sites Schedule 2024 Summary Report
• portofblyth.co.uk
• q.com: cambois
• jdrcables.com
• gov.uk: maps of north east investment zone tax sites
• northeast-ca.gov.uk: north east investment zone
• gov.uk: investment zones in england
• gov.uk: tax reliefs part 2
• northeast-ca.gov.uk: north east enterprise zones
• gov.uk: enterprise zones
• gov.uk: extension of enhanced capital allowances for enterprise zones
• planning.data.gov.uk
• planning.data.gov.uk
• northumberland.gov.uk: Northumberland Local Plan Adopted March 2022
• Yield: PVGIS 5.3 (European Commission Joint Research Centre), SARAH3 data, 14% system losses, for the town centre, modelled 4 November 2026.
• Council area figures: DESNZ, renewable electricity by local authority 2014 to 2025.