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Know How / Farm energy

Get advice on diversifying into the farm energy sector or using farm-generated renewable energy to cut energy costs. Find out how to maximise anaerobic digestion (AD) plant performance, lease land for battery and generator sites, and grow crops for the biofuels market.

Practical advice

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FARM ENERGY

10 ways to mitigate April's rising electricity charges

Wholesale electricity costs typically make up just one-third of the average electricity bill, with other “non-commodity costs” – in other words, standing charges – comprising more than 60%. These charges…

FARM ENERGY

Advice on legal and tax angles for renewables projects

Solar developers continue to look for sites and interested landowners can do much to put themselves in the best position to proceed. Interest in potential wind turbine sites is also…

BUSINESS CLINIC

Business Clinic: Can I put a turbine on green belt land?

Whether it’s a legal, tax, insurance, management or land issue, Farmers Weekly’s Business Clinic experts can help. Here, Philippe Rottner, senior energy specialist with Carter Jonas, advises on the potential…

BUSINESS

How farm-scale AD can offer sustainability and savings

Of the 427 on-farm anaerobic digester (AD) plants operating at present in the UK, there are 79 running solely on livestock waste. They vary in size from 4kWe to more…

FARM ENERGY

How a landowner consortium can secure a better solar deal

Collaborating with neighbours could help farmers and landowners strengthen their negotiating position when looking to rent land to developers for large-scale solar projects. Shropshire-based consultant Rob Paul of RP Rural…

FARM ENERGY

Onshore wind turbines – prospects and advice

Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently lifted what was effectively a moratorium on new onshore wind power in England. Interest in potential sites is warming up and while objections are still likely,…

Case studies

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DAIRY

How milk source heat pumps have slashed dairy’s energy bills

Installing three milk source heat pumps is saving a Somerset cheesemaker more than £70,000 a year on electricity bills. Investment by Barber’s, Maryland Farm, Ditcheat, in this new technology is…

POULTRY

How free-range layers complement electricity generation

Six thousand hens range under the solar array on 16ha (40 acres) of former arable land let to egg producers Charlie and Laura Tomkins. The birds share the site with…

LIVESTOCK

How a slurry digester is helping cut energy costs by 85%

A Gloucestershire dairy farm has slashed monthly energy bills by using a farm-scale anaerobic digester, alongside solar panels, to produce electricity. The technology employed at Court Farm, Kempley, also produces…

DAIRY

Robot dairy saves £30k with custom microgrid system

A robotic dairy farm, currently producing 97% of its power needs through solar panels, is entering the third stage of energy profiling to optimise its own self-contained energy system or…

DAIRY

How dairy’s solar fence captures energy at peak demand

At Kilmeaden Farm in County Waterford, cows graze either side of a 150m fence that runs north to south the length of one of David Foran’s fields. This is no…

MACHINERY

NI farm transforms slurry and food waste into bio-LNG fuel

A multi-million pound diversification project has allowed an enterprising dairy farm to convert slurry and food waste into biofuel, as it looks to tap into the growing market for renewable…

Insights

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FARM ENERGY

How to assess whether rooftop solar is right for your farm

With equipment costs at historic lows and a favourable government policy towards renewables, now could be a good opportunity to invest in rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. However, this is…

FARM ENERGY

Small-scale AD held back by lack of policy support

Small-scale biogas potentially offers many benefits for farmers well beyond energy generation, yet there are concerns that lack of government support or clear policy direction is continuing to hold back…