A family-run dairy has launched a six-acre solar farm.
Berkeley Farm Dairy in Wroughton, has switched on a ground-mounted solar PV array that will generate more than 642,400 kWh of renewable electricity each year.
The new installation is expected to reduce the dairy’s carbon footprint by 136,410kg and save nearly £88,000 annually in energy costs.
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Ed Gosling, senior partner at Berkeley Farm Dairy, said: “We’re growing all the time, selling to shops and restaurants as well as directly to individual customers.
“We used all the electricity the panels generated in its first month, but as daylight hours get longer and we have excess, we are reviewing our ways of working to see how we can best use it.
“For example, we use a lot of energy for cooling and are now looking at pre-cooling 10,000 litres of water during the day using solar-generated electricity and then using that water for cooling milk at night when solar energy production is low but work in the processing unit continues.”
The investment was prompted by the surge in electricity prices in 2022.
The Gosling family, which has run the dairy since 1908, wanted to improve energy security and further strengthen their commitment to sustainability.
The site processes around 250,000 litres of organic milk each week.
The dairy already uses electric delivery vans, supplies its organic milk in reusable glass bottles, and maintains permanent pasture to help offset methane emissions from its herd of 150 Guernsey cows.
The solar PV system was designed and installed by SolarSense, an award-winning renewable energy provider based in the South West.
Russell Mees, managing director at SolarSense, said: “Berkeley Farm Dairy is demonstrating how on-site solar generation can deliver real benefits via a single investment, while strengthening their ESG and sustainability credentials.”
The SolarSense team conducted detailed site surveys, optimised the system design, supported planning and installation, and provided ongoing maintenance once the system was commissioned.
Mr Gosling said the only “downside” had been the solar farm’s underwhelming start.
He said: “That was a bit of an anti-climax.
“It wasn’t like switching on the Christmas lights which is what we’d all imagined.
“It was more a formal notification to say our panels were now active and producing energy.
“But we were incredibly happy the installation is up and running and we are really excited about the difference this will make to the future of the farm.
“We are expecting payback on the investment in year seven and savings across the 25-year lifetime of the solar panels of some £3.2 million.”
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Berkeley Farm Dairy produces a wide range of organic and non-organic dairy products, including milk, kefir, butter, and cream for consumers and commercial clients across the UK.
It is the sole supplier of 30,000 litres of milk a week to national grocery delivery company Abel & Cole and also produces 65,000 litres of kefir each week.
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