Our client is a large potato grower in St Helens producing 1000s of tons of potatoes each year. Planting, Growing, Harvesting, Processing and Packaging for distribution throughout the UK to many large retail customers. The storage and processing uses a large amount of electricity and so Thompsons Solar were approached to provide a solution to reduce the farms running costs and reduce the carbon impact of their operation.
Installation
The designed system utilises the roof space of the cold store buildings.
Our client is a large potato grower in St Helens producing 1000s of tons of potatoes each year. Planting, Growing, Harvesting, Processing and Packaging for distribution throughout the UK to many large retail customers. The storage and processing uses a large amount of electricity and so Thompsons Solar were approached to provide a solution to reduce the farms running costs and reduce the carbon impact of their operation.
Installation
The designed system utilises the roof space of the cold store buildings. The solar array is sized to maximise potential of the existing grid connection whilst providing the highest reduction in grid supplied power. The total installed capacity is just over 188kW providing a potential yield of nearly 40% of the historic annual electrical consumption.
Grid consent was sought and approved to connect the system under G99 and G100 regulations.
Suitable scaffolding and edge protection was installed to enable our teams to complete the installation safely and efficiently.
Technical Information
Electrical consumption Prior to Solar installation: 402,698kW Hrs PA
Installed Solar Capacity: 188.16kW
Projected yield from installed solar: 151,631 kW hr PA
Net Rate of return on investment: 20.8%
System Performance warranties (manufacturer) 25yr – 80% original performance
Completion Commissioning, Performance
Upon completion of installation, the system was commissioned and tested and is now fully operational. Remote monitoring enables the system to be monitored to ensure it is performing correctly over the lifetime of the installation.
The system is predicted to payback within less than 7 years which equates to just over 20% ROI. In addition to the financial aspect, our client is now benefiting from cleaner, greener power generated on site. With a high on-site energy usage, this agricultural installation will assist our client in not only reducing energy costs but also provide them with energy independence from grid-sourced power.
