Solar South West recently completed a 1MW installation at Coombe Farm in Crewkerne, Somerset. The project begun on April 17 this year, and was fully commissioned by June 24, allowing it to benefit from the higher feed-in tariff rates.

Coombe Farm produces organic milk from 1,500 hectares of its own land as well as being a centralised buyer of milk from surrounding farms. In addition to milk production, the site houses a factory that is utilised by Yeo Valley for the production of organic yoghurt.

In an effort to lower their carbon footprint and make savings on the ever-increasing electricity costs the AH Warren Trust, which owns Coombe Farm, had Solar South West design and install the 1.004MWp ground-mounted PV plant.

Sited on a gentle south-facing slope, the installed arrays produce maximum generation throughout the year as the A-SUN modules are designed to have their pitch altered with the seasons (45° in the winter, to 16° in the summer).

The system is expected to generate approximately 1,000,000kWh per annum, which will meet around a quarter of the electricity required for Coombe Farm.