Cliffe Grange – 16kWp array (using 64 x 250 watt poly crystalline Tier 1 solar panels and 1 x 15kW Fronius Symo inverter)
Prior to the installation of the solar panels purelec energy applied to Western Power Distribution (DNO) to connect the system onto the national grid.
An offer to connect was made by Western Power with a zero cost attached, which we accepted.
As the array at Cliffe Grange was below 50kWp, the array was classed as Permitted development, needing no planning permission. A full structural survey was also completed to confirm the roofs ability to hold the solar panels weight and an assessment on the sites energy efficiency was also completed. Once we knew the building had achieved an EPC of a rating D, we were in a position to begin the installation.
Before the panels were installed we needed to fit a safety net. The roof material was fibre cement (Big 6) and is classed as a fragile roof material, meaning a net to the full underside of the barn was required.
Working alongside Mr Marsh and his time frames, the barn was cleared of the large straw bales. This was to allow the cherry picker access to the full underside of the roof so that the nets could be installed in a safe manner.
Our scaffolder was then able to install a full scaffold to the front edge of the barn with toe boards and a tower for access at the mid point.
During the initial site survey, we identified a disused armoured cable that ran from the farm’s existing three phase incoming supply to the dairy shed. After calculating the potential voltage drop from the array back to the incoming supply, we were satisfied that the voltage drop was within acceptable levels, allowing us to use the exisitng cable, saving Mr Marsh unnecessary costs attached to installing new armoured cables.
All of the panels were fitted to the south easterly elevation of the largest barn to capture the greatest yields of energy from the sun. The inverters were located in the dairy shed next to the milk tanks close by.
As the system was smaller than 30kWp in size, Mr Marsh was eligible to receive a deemed export of 50% of the total energy generated for the full twenty year lifetime of the Feed In Tariff.
For all renewable installations there is a cost to monitoring exported electricity and this is not seen to be viable for systems below 30kWp in most cases including Mr Marsh’s.
Finally we fitted monitoring to the system, which was linked in with Mr Marsh’s other systems so that the ongoing performance could be assessed.
All systems were linked back to the online Solar Web portal, which can be viewed via a computer or phone.
Upon completion of the installation, purelec commissioned the system and registered the installation on the MCS database.
As a part of the service we also guided Mr Marsh in his registration of the system with his chosen energy supplier to ensure he would be eligible to gain Feed In Tariff payments for the full guaranteed twenty years!
Mr Marsh opted to receive deemed export payments when we helped him to register for Feed In Tariff payments with his energy supplier.
System overview:
Total installed capacity : 1 X 16kWp array (64 x 250 watt panels)
16 kWp Array:
Year one yield : 13,776 kWh
Feed In Tariff : £1,732.00
Import Saving : £826.56
Export Payment : £319.60
Total annual Income : £2,876.16
20 year ROI : £87,047.00
Payback Period : 6.5 years
CO2 saved/Annum: 7.0 Tonnes
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Client:Mr Marsh
Location:Shropshire
Surface Area:16Kw
Year Completed:2015
Green Bank Farm
