A new breed of solar farm
Our Generation, the solar power specialist, has completed its first agricultural solar system installation at a poultry farm in Herefordshire ’ a 50kWp (kiloWattpeak) system which is estimated to generate up to 15 per cent of the farm’s daily electricity requirements.
The solar array, made up of 276 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, was specified and installed on the roof of a south facing poultry barn at Lower Newton Farm by Our Generation, working in partnership with energy-saving business, Mark Group. Using Our Generation’s bespoke ’pay as you go’ model, in tandem with the Government’s Feed in Tariff, the proprietors will benefit from fixed rate energy costs for up to 25 years, hoping to reduce their current electricity bills by a staggering ’200 every month.
’Poultry farming is an energy intensive business and I reviewed a number of renewable technology options, largely on economic grounds, to see if we would be able to find a sustainable long term solution to reduce our costs,’ said farmer, Neil Powell. ’Our site currently has an annual consumption of around 290,000kWh and the model offered by Our Generation, which requires no upfront payment for the system or any future technical or maintenance costs, was the ideal solution.’
The system installed is the first of two planned for Lower Newton Farm; a second 50kWp system will be fitted to another poultry barn on the site, currently under construction, later this year. When complete, the systems should provide up to 20 per cent of the farm’s electricity requirements, delivering significant savings on its ’2,000 monthly power bills.
Neil continued: ’There is currently no official requirement on our business to reduce our carbon footprint but no doubt, it is only a matter of time before that situation changes. Our investment in solar energy makes sense economically and environmentally - and I would recommend that any farmer looks seriously at renewable technology, especially if they are working in an energy intensive sector.’
Our Generation launched in 2009 with the installation of a 204 panel (40kWp) solar system on a school in Hertfordshire ’ the largest array to be installed on a school anywhere in the country.
