“We use electricity continuously,” said Adam Reeves, farm manager at Quickes Traditional, “as we carry out every process onsite, from milking our herd of cows to maturing the finished cheese for up to 24 months. Bills are particularly high during the summer months when the weather is hotter, but thankfully this is when our solar PV system will work to its highest capacity. All of the electricity it generates will be used to help power our refrigerators.”
Quickes selected local experts SunGift Energy to carry out the work after the company designed a bespoke system for the roof of the cheese store, rather than a ground-mounted system on its land (as suggested by other installers).
The 50 kWp system will produce around 44,000 kWh of electricity per year, enough to power the equivalent of 13 average houses and reduce carbon emissions by 23 tonnes each year.
Costing just over £50,000, it will earn around £9,000 per year in Feed-in Tariff payments, giving Quickes an exceptional 17.8% return on its investment.
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