October 14, 2024 Solar PV

Can Your Business Benefit?

In a field as diverse as agriculture – which spans arable farming, food storage and processing, animal husbandry and much more – there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to generating the energy that each individual business might need.

What is common to all agricultural businesses is the direct impact to livelihoods caused by a changing climate and geopolitical uncertainty – which affects business productivity, supply chains and energy prices.

For agricultural businesses to safeguard themselves against upheaval in the energy market, they need to secure a stable, low-cost source of energy that can free up capital for investments that future-proof their businesses.

If you are leading an agricultural business, solar PV can be that energy source. We will explain why in this blog.

Why are (some) agricultural businesses uniquely positioned to benefit from solar?

As we mentioned, no one single thing can be said about such a diverse sector.

However, many in agriculture (more than other sectors) are attuned to long-term thinking – operating with asset wealth and financing, rather than immediate cash-richness.

They also understand the need to guarantee security in areas that they can control – such as their energy supply – when weather, supply chains and economic circumstances are so volatile.

In this sense, it’s undeniable that solar power – with guaranteed energy generation and a guaranteed return on investment within just a few years – is well-suited to agricultural businesses.

However, solar power is also ideal for a number of businesses that are, as is common in agriculture, energy-intensive and have ample, unobstructed roof space.

This means that, although not every agricultural business will benefit, the many that need to replace grid electricity with a low-cost alternative would certainly benefit from solar power.

Which agricultural businesses stand to gain the most from solar power?

Solar power provides the quickest return on investment (versus grid electricity) in areas where energy use is most intensive – and therefore, where you save the most by not using grid electricity.

This means that processes such as refrigeration (e.g. warehouses and dairies) and animal husbandry (e.g. poultry and cattle sheds) can be done more efficiently and less expensively with solar power.

It can also benefit horticulture, where large houses require irrigation, heating and lighting, and adjacent sectors such as food production and food processing, where production lines can be powered far less expensively with electricity produced by solar power systems.

Why is solar power the best source of energy for these agricultural businesses?

For energy-intensive businesses, regardless of sector, solar power has a number of consistent benefits.

Solar Power is:

• The cheapest source of electricity per kWh of all sources, including renewables.
• Zero carbon, which isn’t just increasingly incentivised in agriculture, but is also vital for winning tenders in sustainable supply chains, including government contracts.
• An independent source of energy, free from the volatility of the fossil fuel electricity market.

Furthermore, energy-intensive businesses will also benefit from storing excess electricity in a battery (and deploy at peak times to avoid peak tariffs) or repurposing it for electric vehicle charging.

Lastly, for agricultural businesses in particular, solar power not only provides a guaranteed return on investment well within the 25-year lifespan of most solar panels: a loan for solar power system, even with an ROI period up to 20 years, will still provide a more affordable source of energy than grid electricity.

In many cases, however, you can expect to be in a cash-positive position in fewer than 10 years.

Why choose Innasol Solar?

Solar power systems perform to their full potential when they are designed with your specific needs in mind.

This means that every aspect of your business’s energy usage needs to be understood – from your current consumption patterns, taken from over 17,000 data points in the span of a year, to your local climate conditions.

It’s a design-led philosophy that sets Innasol apart, ensuring that your system generates exactly the amount of electricity that you need, delivering a reliable source of energy with a minimal wait for your investment to be paid back.

We have worked with agricultural businesses up and down the UK, and with our network of expert, local partners, we can design, procure and install bespoke solar power systems.

If you lead an energy-intensive agricultural business, there’s no reason not to consider solar power to bring down energy bills and secure a zero-carbon future for your business.

It all starts with a survey to find out exactly how your business will benefit from solar. You can start that free, no-obligation solar survey of your business.

Review our other resources

• The Benefits of Solar Power: how can my business benefit?
• What kind of biomass boiler do we need? 
• What Role Can Solar Power Play In your Business Goals?
• Why is now a better time for businesses to adopt solar power than ever
• Embrace Renewable Heating: Your Ultimate Guide for UK Homes