Number of ways to cut on-farm energy costs

With significant increases in the cost of electricity, water, heat and fuel, let alone other inputs, costs of production are rising and the margins are getting narrower.

Fortunately, over the last couple of years, different technologies have been developed enabling on-farm energy costs to be reduced considerably and, consequently, the number of farmers employing these technologies is increasing.

If you are considering how you might go about reducing energy costs on the farm or within your commercial enterprise, there are a number of options available to you:

• Solar PV – Solar panels convert daylight into electricity for use on site, with any excess electricity being exported to the national grid

• Solar thermal – Similar to solar panels, solar thermal panels are installed on buildings and use the sun’s energy to heat water

• Heat pumps – Draw warmth from the surrounding environment to heat water and space and can also be used for cooling

• Biomass boilers – Burn biomass (wood, pellets etc.) to heat water and space

• Wind turbines – Harness the power of the wind to generate electricity for use on site, with any surplus electricity produced being exported to the National Grid.

To encourage use of these renewable technologies, help achieve renewable energy targets and reward energy producers, the government has schemes including the Renewable Heat Incentive and Feed In Tariffs.

Both are an annual payments to producers, which proves a welcome source of income and helps greatly towards paying back the cost of the investment made in technology in the first place.

If your energy costs are high and you think renewable energy is the way forward, it is first necessary to audit your energy use in order to establish where most energy is consumed and therefore what technology is best. It is also very important to ensure you shop around to find the best energy contracts, monitor your energy use and always look for ways to keep making it more efficient.

Financing installations may be a concern for some because, of course, none of this is free. If outright purchase is not an option, there are options for financing the investment in other ways.

If you are considering investing in renewable energy now is the time to do it, before the technology increases in price.

We work with a group that specialises in reducing energy costs for farmers and have worked on hundreds of small and large scale projects within the locality.

• Louise Roberts BSc (Hons) MRICS FAAV, Rural Professional Department at Halls in Shrewsbury, working alongside The Green Electrician Group