Commercial solar installers in Totnes

Key facts

Where businesses are in Totnes

• Baltic Wharf: Riverside brownfield site on the River Dart allocated in the Joint Local Plan for mixed use, including about 3,300 sq m of business and industrial floorspace and the retention of the boatyard.
• Riverside employment site: Allocated in the Joint Local Plan for about 3,200 sq m of business, industrial and storage floorspace.
• Ashburton Road: Allocated in the Joint Local Plan for about 1,200 sq m of light industrial and research and development floorspace.

Large employers and sectors with sites here include:

• Marine instruments (Teledyne Valeport): Valeport, founded in 1969, designs underwater sensors such as sound velocity probes and current meters in Totnes. Teledyne agreed to buy it in March 2024, and it now trades as Teledyne Valeport from St Peter's Quay.
• Tourism and independent retail: The Joint Local Plan describes Totnes as one of the principal heritage attractions of the region, with its historic town centre and range of independent shops drawing visitors.

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.

Grid connection

Totnes is served by National Grid Electricity Distribution (South West 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 Totnes

Totnes follows the national planning rules for England, decided by South Hams 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:

• South Hams' 2024 management plan for the Totnes Conservation Area says solar panels may not be appropriate in many parts of it; where proposed they should be limited in scale and away from key vantage points, with secondary buildings or ground mounting preferred.

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

What a business roof in Totnes could generate

Modelled with PVGIS for the town centre, a south-facing roof at 30 degrees produces about 1,083 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 Totnes 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 South Hams

At the end of 2025, South Hams had 7,754 solar PV installations with 149.0 MW of capacity, up 14% since 2020, according to government figures. The South Hams page has the full local figures and how they compare.

Nearby towns

• Newton Abbot, about 7 miles away
• Exmouth, about 17 miles away
• Tiverton, about 34 miles away
• Bodmin, about 45 miles away

Sources

• ons.gov.uk: census2021
• ons.gov.uk: datadownload.xlsx
• plymouth.gov.uk: JLPAdoptedVersion
• teledyne.com: teledyne to acquire valeport
• valeport.co.uk
• gov.uk: maps of plymouth and south devon freeport tax
• devon.gov.uk: economy
• gov.uk: enterprise zones
• totnestowncouncil.gov.uk: Totnes CAAMP v 02
• 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.