Why farmers love solar panels?
Being at the end of a supply chain leaves you vulnerable. Farmers know this all too well! PV (photovoltaic) solar panels are popular with farmers because they live at the end of the network.
The same is true with the United Kingdom PLC. Since 2005, energy prices have increased a whopping 73% leaving many households in fuel poverty, just because we are all at the end of an international power supply system.
The country’s supplies from Russia, the Middle East, increasing demand means growing costs. Growing dependence will continue to have severe price consequences on household costs.
As farmers are aware, providing a way to reduce dependence is paramount. Acknowledgment of your position at the end of the supply chain is the catalyst to a solar installation.
Our new high energy expenditure is down to our country’s global geographical location. The popularity of PV solar panels with farmers has been fueled by the new Export tariffs too. Self-reliance has always traditionally been a farmers plan. Farmhouses are always backed-up with traditional wood-burning means.
Solar panels today are the latest addition to a farmer’s home survival tool belt.
In addition, the (photovoltaic) PV solar panels in combination with a battery storage device ensure supply is unlikely to be disrupted.
Many people, not just farmers are changing the way they think about energy.
Changing how we heat and power our homes is going to become more urgent over the coming years. PV solar panels will continue to increase in popularity due to geopolitics. Feed-in tariff’s brought solar panels to the countryside; the export generation tariffs will bring them to the urban environment.
The moral of this story is, learn from farmers who’ve had to deal with being at the end of the line. Invest in long-term technology, that will last longer than your mortgage.
I had a modest domestic PV system installed (3.5kWp, within the 4kWp threshold limit for domestic installations), got very involved in the whole process including doing my own modelling and for me it was a ‘no brainer’:
1) Approximately 10% RoI pa (return on investment)
2) Circa 7.5 years to recover initial capital
3) I was able to make a small contribution to the ‘green’ agenda
From my own experiences care needs to be taken with whom you contract to do the job for you; I had one very questionable Co. who were essentially inept but finally made the correct choice and am very happy with my system.
Whilst I support both small and large scale projects I believe that there is a balance needed between farmers and others who opt for large scale installations and the domestic users since the Government budget was largely expended by larger installations. I do not subscribe to the mantra ‘the rich get richer as the poor get poorer’ however, there is an element of truth in this in that those that could afford such an investment to benefit from a PV system will gain from the FIT revenue that is ostensibly funded by all energy users.
I am now researching the feasibility of a wind generator including the WLC (whole life cost). Real benefits to storing energy for release essentially during night-time is of particular interest.
Best Regards
S P Foyle