Case Study:
Westbury Farms, Gloucestershire

Westbury Farms

49.2 kWp (120 panels) installation

Rural, local…and right up our street

Westbury Farm is based in Cockleford, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. Operating in an area with significant agricultural activity, Westbury recognised the potential of renewable energy sources to reduce its carbon footprint and reliance on non-renewable energy sources.

The farm, which produces grain and other crops, sought to integrate solar PV technology into its design for a new 2000 tonne grain store. This decision was driven by the farm’s commitment to sustainability, the desire to reduce its carbon footprint, and the financial benefits that solar PV installations can offer.

Agricultural roots

Mypower’s origins over a decade ago were in providing solar PV solutions for the agricultural sector, and even though we’ve today grown in to supplying the same solutions to manufacturing, retail, leisure and education sectors (to name but some), agriculture is still an area in which we remain very committed and active.

We recognise that high and volatile electricity costs are adding to the escalating overheads faced by UK farmers which affect profitability. Farm buildings can provide large, uncomplicated roof spaces which are ideal for installing solar PV, helping farmers to reduce their energy bills significantly.

Natural design

Westbury Farms’ aim was to integrate the grain store into the existing farmyard without it becoming unduly prominent. This saw a comprehensive scheme of new planting and management of existing vegetation, including mixed native hedging and copse of native trees being planted including maple, birch, beech, crab apple and lime trees.

Seasonal demand profile

As a part of the design stage, Mypower analysed Westbury’s electricity consumption and profile of use. As can be seen from the graphic (Fig. 1), the use of electricity is dominated by the times when the farm is utilising its grain dryers, with 75% of their consumption occurring in the months of August, September and October. Given the profile of the consumption its projected that over 70% of the solar generated energy will be exported and sold to the grid. Whilst this relatively high level of export extends the payback time from a typical 3-5 year period to 6½ years the investment is helping to avoid nearly 10 tonnes of CO2 emissions and save over £7,100 in the first year alone.

Key facts and predictions

49.2 kWp (120 panels) installed.
46,593 kWh units of energy produced per annum.
15.4% projected first year return on capital invested, before capital allowance benefits.
5.74p/kWh - the equivalent forward purchase price of 1 million units of electricity over 25 years including estimated operating & maintenance costs.
£291,431 - a 25-year income and savings after indexation.
84% saving from solar PV electricity compared to grid supplied electricity at 35p/kWh.

“Farm energy use in buildings such as grain stores is considerable, and we have a firm commitment to reducing fossil fuel use to power our production. It was therefore a very straightforward decision to implement solar PV on our new building which highly considered environmental and biodiversity impact. We were impressed by the efficiency and expertise with which Mypower designed and installed the system, and we are delighted with the results.”