Norcroft Energy, Yorkshire's Electrical and Renewable Energy Specialists, has just completed a solar panel installation at Whitefield Farm near Penistone, Sheffield. The Farm processes milk and cream from their herd grazed on the hills above Penistone which is then bottled in their own dairy and delivered to local residents and businesses.
Nigel Darwin, Dairy Farmer who has worked at Whitefield Farm all his life, wanted to reduce the farms electricity bills by generating their own power. Solar PV technology converts energy from the sun into electricity. The stronger the sunshine, the more electricity is produced.
“We have had monthly electricity bill of between £1,200 and £1,500, the majority of which is used by the Dairy to process milk on our farm. We have been looking at ways to reduce our costs and generating our own electricity seemed like a great way to do this. We have a large south facing roof on our site so after talking to Norcroft Energy, it made perfect sense to use this space to install multiple solar panels to generate our own power and make a profit at the same time”, said Nigel.
Philip Mosley, Managing Director at Norcroft Energy said, “We find that farm owners can benefit in three ways from Solar PV technology. First, they have the reliability of generating their very own power – a big consideration with energy prices continuing to increase. Secondly, they can make a profit with their guaranteed Feed in Tariff payments, and thirdly they can make more profit on the Export Tariff.”
Norcroft Energy installed a 50kW solar system over two roofs on site at Whitefield Farm, a total of 198 solar panels. The annual Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) for Whitefield Farm is estimated to be £5,103, with annual savings of £8,432 from generating their own energy.
Nigel added, “Norcroft Energy were the perfect choice. With Philip coming from a farming background, he had the specialist knowledge and experience to help us make an informed decision. Now the solar panel installation is complete, we are looking forward to reaping the benefits.”
Whitefield Farm joins a number of Yorkshire based companies who have decided to turn to the sun to generate their own power. With daily costs of living getting higher and higher, many other companies are likely to follow suit and look at ways to save on their electricity bills.
