|  Salop Energy are working towards helping the farming and agricultural community. We want to help farmers and landowners gain the highest returns from the clean energy cashback scheme, between now and 2012.
We fully understand that it is a major decision to committ to a 25 or 50 kW solar energy system immediately. This is why we have decided to introduce our incentive for farmers scheme, where we offer a discounted rate on a 4 kW small scale photovoltaic system, to be used on say a farmhouse or outbuilding. By doing this farmers and landowners can see for themselves how well a system performs and the associated benefits, before deciding whether or not a large scale system is for them. Contact us today and discuss your requirements.
A 10kW SHARP Photovoltaic PV system installed recently on an farm building in llansillin, powys
Salop Energy recently installed this 3.99kW SHARP 235 PV system on an Agricultural building at Quatford, Bridgnorth, Shropshire
UK farmers & landowners can now benefit from the sun - in more ways than one
Now that the UK feed-in tariff is in place, UK farmers and landowners are set for some good news. As opposed to using their cropland for the installation of solar photovoltaic systems, they can use the often-large rooftop surfaces to generate renewable electricity. By installing rooftop solar PV systems, UK farmers have the potential to earn approximately £16,000 a year, saving over £1,800 in electricity bills, with income and savings anticipated to be more than £465,000 over 25 years.
By earning 31.4p per kilowatt hour of energy generated, the savings and earnings represent a return on investment of over 9% for farmers creating an additional, guaranteed revenue stream. It also helps future-proof against rising electricity prices, which is crucial for power intensive farming.
Stephen Frankel, from Wadebridge, installed solar on his small-holding in May 2010. "We installed solar PV on our barn roof a month ago, and we immediately starting saving on our bills and earning extra income thanks to the feed-in tariff. Traditionally, farming revenue is quite seasonal, but now we're making money by creating clean energy we have the peace of mind of another income, and we’re doing our bit reducing our carbon footprint. I’d recommend any farmer to consider this – our land brings us so much value, so why not our roofs?”
Solar PV panels mounted on roofs have proved popular with farmers across Europe since the introduction of feed-in tariffs in a number of countries over recent years. In France, since the FiT was introduced in 2008, solar PV has become a common choice on farms.
Mr and Mrs Jean-Noël Simard are poultry farmers from Burgundy in France, who installed 470 solar panels on their barns in April 2010.
“Our photovoltaic system is an excellent way of diversifying revenue streams for farmers like us. The feed-in tariff makes solar a sound investment with which we can protect ourselves against rising electricity prices while saving many tonnes of C02 emissions too. Solar PV is simply the best way to upgrade your farm.”
Solar power is no longer just about bolting a few bulky panels to your roof, it’s a sophisticated, guaranteed, active industrial building product designed to work with your business.
Since the best rates for installing solar power are only available in the next few years in the UK, farmers are now active in introducing renewable energy to their businesses. The average space needed for a solar roof is between 100 – 200 m2 and a typical 60kWp system produces 51,000 units of electricity a year which is vital for the power demands of today’s farming.
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