A Dorset Farmer is urging the farming industry to press ahead with investment in solar power despite Government cuts to the green subsidy or Feed-in Tariff scheme.
David Tory, a dairy farmer who farms 600 acres near Blandford Forum in Dorset is investing around £135,000 by installing four solar PV systems at his farm at Tarrant Crawford.
His investment in solar PV installations is expected to yield around £850,000 in energy savings during the next 25 years despite the changes to the Feed- in Tariff (FIT) scheme and he is expected to make a profit of around £650,000 giving an annual return on his investment of around 16%.
The Government announcement last month of a fifty percent cut to the Feed-in Tariff rates (FiT) took many in the solar power and farming industries by surprise as to the speed and severity of the cuts.
However, David Tory says that despite the cuts, solar PV installations are still a worth while investment for farmers to make." I expect my solar PV system to start paying for itself within five and a half years, I have looked at all the costs involved and with reductions in manufacturing costs for solar PV panels it is still a viable investment. In fact, with expected rising energy costs in the future it’s a bit of a "no brainer." not to do it. As long as you install a high quality system with a reputable supplier, you should enjoy a good return on your investment."
Head of SCCI Energy, Lee Bernard says that although the cuts to the FiT scheme have proved to be challenging for the solar power industry it should be able to cope with the changes;" We knew that the cuts to the FiT scheme were to be expected and we were anticipating that manufacturers and the supply chain would cut prices accordingly. But we did not anticipate the extent of the cut and how quickly it was being brought in. It will hit those companies who have a very short-term focus. SCCI Energy however has a longer term strategy and we will continue to provide a competitively priced high quality full turn key solar solution for farmers who are keen to combat increasing energy prices and who want to make a sound business investment."
The four solar PV systems which include 250 solar panels are being installed on the roofs of farm building to supply the farm with 62,000 kwh per year.
