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Know How / Farm energy

Get advice on diversifying into the farm energy sector or using farm-generated renewable energy to cut energy costs. Find out how to maximise anaerobic digestion (AD) plant performance, lease land for battery and generator sites, and grow crops for the biofuels market.

Practical advice

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BUSINESS

How farm-scale AD can offer sustainability and savings

Of the 427 on-farm anaerobic digester (AD) plants operating at present in the UK, there are 79 running solely on livestock waste. They vary in size from 4kWe to more…

FARM ENERGY

How a landowner consortium can secure a better solar deal

Collaborating with neighbours could help farmers and landowners strengthen their negotiating position when looking to rent land to developers for large-scale solar projects. Shropshire-based consultant Rob Paul of RP Rural…

FARM ENERGY

Onshore wind turbines – prospects and advice

Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently lifted what was effectively a moratorium on new onshore wind power in England. Interest in potential sites is warming up and while objections are still likely,…

FARM ENERGY

Insurance implications for renewable energy projects

Farmers planning renewable energy projects may fail to get them insured if they do not consult with their broker or insurer in good time. Ideally, that should be in the…

FARM ENERGY

Solar lease opportunities: What to consider

Travel around the country and it is usually not long before you come across a solar farm that is either operational, or being built, with many others in the development…

OTHER CROPS

How to maximise SFI herbal leys in arable rotations

About 175,000ha of SAM3 herbal leys are due to be grown in Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 (SFI23) schemes, according to the figures released by Defra for agreements reached by the…

Case studies

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LIVESTOCK

How a slurry digester is helping cut energy costs by 85%

A Gloucestershire dairy farm has slashed monthly energy bills by using a farm-scale anaerobic digester, alongside solar panels, to produce electricity. The technology employed at Court Farm, Kempley, also produces…

DAIRY

Robot dairy saves £30k with custom microgrid system

A robotic dairy farm, currently producing 97% of its power needs through solar panels, is entering the third stage of energy profiling to optimise its own self-contained energy system or…

DAIRY

How dairy’s solar fence captures energy at peak demand

At Kilmeaden Farm in County Waterford, cows graze either side of a 150m fence that runs north to south the length of one of David Foran’s fields. This is no…

MACHINERY

NI farm transforms slurry and food waste into bio-LNG fuel

A multi-million pound diversification project has allowed an enterprising dairy farm to convert slurry and food waste into biofuel, as it looks to tap into the growing market for renewable…

LIVESTOCK

Farmer's engineering skills make farm net energy producer

A mechanically minded Yorkshire farmer has made the family farm a net electricity producer by capitalising on tariffs and applying his engineering skills. Former oil industry engineer and mixed farmer…

DAIRY

How a dairy is harvesting methane to save on diesel costs

Dairy farmers Kevin and Kate Hoare are mitigating the effects of soaring diesel prices by running a tractor on methane harvested from the slurry pit. Trenance Farm in Cornwall was…

Insights

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FARM ENERGY

Could agrivoltaics address the food v fuel debate?

The integration of cropping with solar panels is almost non-existent in the UK, but it is the basis of the concept of agrivoltaics. First conceived by German physicists in the…