Imagine you could self generate electricity and use it to power your farm? That you could use one of the world’s most reliable and sustainable forms of renewable energy – reducing your carbon footprint and running costs? As you probably know by now, you can do this and you probably should. With 93%* of Irish farmers wanting to work in a greener fashion, we thought we’d break out five of the top reasons for installing PV panels a little bit further.
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You can significantly reduce electricity costs.
Obviously, we come in with this as point number one. You can’t argue with common sense. Energy costs are rising and farming can draw heavily on electricity. With the right number of panels installed, you can self generate your own solar energy, reducing your outgoings to see a quick return on investment… and here we roll nicely into point number two.
The payback period is as low as 4-7 years.
If you’re thinking about making the plunge you want to know how long the solar payback period will be. While we can get more specific once we know the ins and outs of your working farm we know it averages out at approximately 5 years. Considering businesses within the agricultural sector tend to be long term, this is a low risk way of moving in a sustainable direction, boosting those green credentials while also (back to point number one) saving significantly. 5 year payback can also be expressed as 20% return. If the local bank was offering an investment product with 20% return there would be a queue to sign up. Why should an investment in Solar PV be treated any differently?
Full Energy Transparency – Constantly.
Our Solar PV systems are remotely monitored via an app, allowing you to see what energy is being generated by the hour, the day, the month, the year…
It can also show you what you’re buying from the grid, allowing for a 360 degree understanding of your energy usage. Meanwhile, the battery storage systems can hold any excess energy produced to be used later or redirected to an immersion diverter to heat water. This can all be automated and controlled from the app, which is straightforward and easy to use.
The land will thank you for it. Photo by Greg Wilson from Unsplash
There are various incentives available for big farms and for little farms.
This only serves to make the previous points even stronger cases. With accelerated capital allowances, SEAI & TAMS grants available there has never been a better time to get your research done, get a quote from an experienced provider (who will also be able to talk you through the various grants in place) and see if it suits your set of requirements.
Caldor are registered with the department of Agriculture and the SEAI and as such are in a position to assist with applying for grants for your business. In addition, we’re currently sitting tight for a forthcoming announcement which will detail the new ‘Selling Back To The Grid Scheme’ which will allow you to sell excess energy produced back to the grid.
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Protect against carbon tax.
These incrementally increasing penalties were put in place in 2013 in a bid to push people to adapt and invest in alternative energy sources and to support a greener environment. In short, we’re being politely asked to pay for the use of oil, gas, coal and peat, all of which emit CO2 when burned. The incentives currently in place can be seen to be the carrot and the carbon tax the stick. Those who invest in sustainable energies are being rewarded for doing so which helps offset the carbon tax.
We’ve reached the count of 5 and we could go on but if you’re at the point where the questions you have are specific to the way your farm works, you can talk to us here.
If this has scratched an itch and you’d still like to know more about solar power in general, have a read of this.
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*According to the IFAC’S Irish Farm Report survey 93% of farmers who participated want to reduce their carbon footprint.
