Kingspan Roof PowerPanel solar modules have been installed atop two potato storage buildings at Levenham Fen Farm in Cambridgeshire.
The 352.7kWp project, which comprises 1,501 Yingli crystalline modules, was installed to reduce the farm’s increasing energy bills while cutting carbon emissions.
Levenham Fen Farm’s owners used investment from Regenerco to help fund the purchase and installation of Kingspan’s PowerPanel and Safetraxx systems.
Robert Pickard, Estates Manager for the farm’s co-owners Abbots Ripton Farming Company, said: “We have found it difficult to produce electricity by wind or hydroelectric power, so PV is an excellent solution. The buildings are tall and the visual impact of the panels is minimal. There is also a secondary benefit of fitting the panels to the roofs as in the summer they trap the solar energy which reduces the temperature on the roof sheets below the panels.”
“The production of electricity during expensive peak periods is of great benefit to ourselves and to the consumer as all energy generated onsite is channeled directly into powering the potato storage facility.”
The project was managed by Kingspan’s team of PV engineers, who surveyed the roof to confirm it had the structural strength to support the PowerPanel system as well as designing and positioning the PV array to ensure it achieved the highest levels of energy output.
Future maintenance of the PowerPanel System has also been accounted for with the installation of a Kingspan Safetraxx Fall Protection System.
