Gavin Engelbrecht visits the farm with the largest collection of solar panels in the North-East

LOOKING for ways to tackle his soaring energy bills, farmer Michael Allen thought solar panels were just a gimmick when the idea was first suggested to him.

But the more he studied the option the more attractive it became.

Today he is the proud owner of what is hailed as the largest privately-owned solar Photovoltaic (PV) system in the North-East.

“It makes sense,” he says. “Installing a solar PV system on the farm was an excellent choice for us and is a perfect solution I would think for many more farmers and businesses.

“Importantly, it allows businesses to become sustainable, operate in a way that is far more cost effective and significantly reduces our operating costs.”

And, of course, the added bonus is that it reduces the environmental impact of using fossil fuel.

Hulam Farm, near Castle Eden, County Durham, has installed a 150kW, 460 panel Sunpower solar PV system, which promises to achieve financial payback within six years and to generate a combined revenue and savings of over £1m within 25 years.

The economic viability of the system was a key driver in Mr Allen’s decision, along with the long-term benefits of an annual income thorough the Government’s Feed in Tariff (FIT).

Introduced in 2010, the FIT provides a payment system to commercial and domestic properties generating electricity or heat through renewable energy sources, including solar PV.

The system at Hulam Farm was installed by the solar PV and heat pump specialist, Calibrate Energy.

Mr Allen said: “As well as farming 2,000 acres of cereal crops, I also process crisps from Walkers for animal feed, which uses a lot of electricity.

“By having the solar panels installed I have been able to cut out the use of two generators and a tractor during the peak period of harvest time.

“The solar panels have been installed on the south facing roofs of two large storage buildings, which means that are unobtrusive as well.

“It is also clean and very quiet, which makes it a much more pleasant place to work as well. In fact it is more of a pleasure to work here than before.

“In addition, we are now much greener. The system is straight forward to run with Calibrate Energy providing very strong technical back up and support whenever we need it.

“They are able to monitor what is happening with the performance of the panels by computer from their base – so they can quickly identify if there are any issues.”

Shane McDonald, a director of Calibrate, which is based in Eglingham, near Alnwick, said: “Hulam Farm is a great example of how a large scale solar PV system can allow a business to become more self-reliant and make huge savings on energy costs.

“As we only work with commercial and industrial clients we have many comparative systems of this size and scope and they are all paying for themselves from the outset which is great for everyone involved.”

In the case of the Hulam Farm installation, the job was fast tracked to completion in only six weeks in gruelling winter conditions.

Challenges included 80 per cent of the work being carried out at a height, 500m of new underground cables laid, over 3,000m of aluminium railing installed and more than 2,000 fixtures and fittings added.

Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels work by producing electricity from daylight through a process called photovoltaic streaming. The panels have an average lifespan of 30-40 years.