UK’s ‘largest’ ground source heat installation on poultry farm under way

Renewable energy business TGE Group has won a £1m contract to install what is believed to be the largest ground source heat pump installation in the UK poultry sector. 

It will comprise five Geo Qube ground source heat pumps feeding underfloor heating in four 50,000 bird-capacity sheds in Shropshire. The total power output is 1,300kW and the system, along with the sheds, is due to be completed by late spring. 

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TGE Group put the cost of heating at 3p/kWh, compared with 5.4p/kWh for LPG gas. It added that the install would be eligible for the Renewable Heat Incentive funding, and payback was comparable, at around four years, to a biomass installation. 

“Heat pumps have many benefits over biomass boilers for new poultry units,” suggested Matthew Evans, a director at TGE Group. “They eliminate the need for regular fuel deliveries on top of the other delivery activities involved on site, which can have an impact on planning. 

“Service and maintenance requirements are higher with biomass, plus heat pumps offer the additional benefits of cooling and de-humidification,” he added.