A DAIRY farm in Sheffield has installed solar panels in a bid to cut its bills and carbon footprint.
The panels generate free electricity that the Whitefield Farm can use for everyday farming.
The local enterprise processes milk and cream which it bottles and delivers to the surrounding area.
The farm had 198 solar panels installed which will generate 50kW of energy a year.
This will earn the farm just over £5,000 a year from the government thanks to the Feed-in tariff and reduce annual energy bill payments by £8,432.
Dairy farmer, Nigel Darwin told Farming UK he installed the panels to reduce the farm’s electricity bills.
He said: “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.”
A spokesperson from www.theecoeperts.co.uk said: “Many farms or landowners across the UK are realising the huge benefits they can gain from installing solar panels. Farming tends to use huge amounts of energy, so if you can produce your own you will immediately cut your energy bills and carbon footprint. Energy prices are almost definitely going to continue rising, so being able to generate your own energy is a great way to escape paying for it.
“The government also pay for the energy you generate and solar panels are a lucrative investment over returns of eight-13%. On top of this, often the panels can be arranged in such a way that the land can continue to be used, for example hens can still graze around them.”
