23
Jul
Nidderdale farmers urged to bid for solar panel funding
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Farmers in Nidderdale have been urged to consider installing solar panels as part of a government pilot scheme.
Nidderdale National Landscape is inviting farms to submit expressions of interest for the initiative, which would see panels installed onto existing agricultural buildings.
Expressions of interest, accompanied by one quotation for the proposed work, must be submitted by July 30.
The opportunity follows a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs funded pilot involving four farms, where systems fitted to the roofs of agricultural buildings have started to generate electricity for energy-intensive rural businesses.
A 46.41kW roof-mounted solar system was installed at Birchfield Farm.
At Shepherds Lodge Farm, a busy North Yorkshire dairy farm supplying Arla, a 67kW array of 132 panels has been installed alongside a 60kW battery system.
The farm milks more than 150 cows and produces around 4,000 litres of milk a day, creating a substantial and constant demand for electricity.
Farm owner David Smith said:
We have wanted to become more energy independent for years, but we needed people who understood farming and could provide the right system without disrupting the business.
Knowing we are generating more of our own power gives us greater confidence for the future and should save the farm a significant amount of money.
Marian Wilby, farm conservation adviser at Nidderdale National Landscape, said:
We wanted to understand how switching to solar could support farms with particularly high electricity demands.
Shepherds Lodge was an ideal candidate because dairy farms use significant amounts of power, particularly during the winter months when much of the milking takes place in darkness.
It is very reassuring that the solar system can be retrofitted to existing farm buildings, meaning very little impact on the surrounding landscape.
The pilot also supported Birchfield Ice Cream Farm, a diversified family business which keeps sheep, cows, goats, pigs, ponies and donkeys alongside making and selling its own ice cream.
Birchfield received £24,791.40 in grant funding towards a 46.41kW roof-mounted solar system.
Tom Whitley, whose family runs Birchfield Ice Cream Farm, said:
Electricity was getting more and more expensive, so we wanted a way of using what we already have here, sunlight and roof space.
Our main period for using electricity is between 10am and 4pm, when the public is here and we are making ice cream, and the panels can now produce what we need during the day.
Farmers interested in submitting an expression of interest or finding out more should contact Marian Wilby at Nidderdale National Landscape via email here.
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