Home / Agricultural
Sector 04 — Agricultural

Energy systems for farms
and agricultural sites

Solar PV, ground-mount arrays and battery storage for working farms, agricultural buildings and processing facilities.

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DAIRY / PROCESS ROOF ARRAY — UP TO 500 kWp INVERTER / EMS export + self-consumption BESS GRID SEG export G99 / G100 GROUND-MOUNT — FIELD / PADDOCK — AGRI-VOLTAIC FARM SITE BOUNDARY
TWO INSTALL TYPES — SPLIT FEATURE BLOCKS

Built around how
a farm actually works

Agricultural sites present a combination of energy characteristics that makes them particularly well-suited to solar: large roof areas, high daytime electricity consumption from dairy, refrigeration and processing equipment, significant grid connection capacity in rural areas, and available land for ground-mount where roofs are constrained.

System design accounts for seasonal load variation, the intermittent nature of agricultural operations, and the practical realities of installation on working farm buildings — phased installation, minimal disruption to operations, and systems that can be maintained without specialist attendance on site.

Large roof-mounted solar array on agricultural barn
Installation type 01
Roof-mounted

Portal frame barns, grain stores, dairy units and machinery sheds offer large unobstructed roof spans well-suited to commercial-scale PV. Roof-mount avoids land use and planning complexity. Systems from 50 kWp on a single span to 500 kWp+ across multiple buildings.

50 kWp–500 kWp+ PORTAL FRAME MULTI-BUILDING MCS CERTIFIED
Ground-mount solar array in agricultural field setting
Installation type 02
Ground-mounted

Field and paddock installations where roof area is limited, poorly orientated or structurally constrained. Ground-mount allows optimal orientation and tilt independent of building geometry. Agri-voltaic configurations maintain grazing or crop production beneath arrays.

FIELD / PADDOCK AGRI-VOLTAIC OPTIMAL TILT PLANNING SUPPORT
System configurations

Four system types

04
Roof-mounted solar PV panels on agricultural barn optimized for self-consumption
Solar PV — self-consumption
Array sized to match daytime operational load. Generation directly offsets grid import during peak consumption periods — dairy milking, refrigeration, grain drying and irrigation pumping. Smart export where surplus is available.
SELF-CONSUMPTIONSMART EXPORTDNO MANAGED
Solar panels integrated with modular commercial battery storage systems on a dairy farm
Solar + battery storage
Battery storage captures surplus generation for use during evening milking sessions, overnight refrigeration and early morning operations. Peak demand reduction and time-of-use tariff optimisation. Resilience against grid outages on remote rural connections.
SOLAR + BESSEVENING LOADGRID RESILIENCE
Large-scale ground-mounted solar array configured for maximum export capacity on agricultural land
Export-optimised system
Large ground-mount or multi-building roof array sized for maximum generation and export. G99/G100 application managed end-to-end. Smart Export Guarantee income modelled over 25-year system life. Suitable for farms with available land and strong grid connection.
MAX EXPORTSEG INCOMEG99 / G100
Hybrid energy control panel connecting solar arrays, battery storage, and a standby diesel generator
Hybrid with standby generation
Integration of existing diesel standby generation with solar and battery. Hybrid control minimises generator runtime and fuel consumption whilst maintaining supply security. Critical for dairy sites where power interruption directly affects animal welfare and milk quality.
HYBRIDDIESEL INTEGRATIONSUPPLY SECURITY
The case for solar

Why agricultural
sites are well-suited
to solar

01
Large roof areas with no planning constraint
Agricultural buildings are typically permitted development for roof-mount solar up to 1 MW. No planning application required in most cases — significantly faster to install than commercial equivalents.
02
High daytime electricity consumption
Dairy milking, refrigeration, ventilation and grain drying run during daylight hours — directly aligned with solar generation. Self-consumption rates of 70–90% achievable on working dairy farms.
03
Electricity costs are a major operational overhead
Energy is consistently one of the top three costs on dairy, poultry and horticultural operations. A well-designed solar system directly reduces that overhead with a 25-year generation lifespan.
04
Available land for ground-mount
Where roofs are insufficient, paddocks and field margins can accommodate ground-mount arrays. Agri-voltaic configurations allow continued grazing — sheep and ground-mount are a proven combination.
05
Grid connection capacity in rural areas
Many agricultural sites have existing three-phase connections with available headroom. Export-optimised systems can generate significant SEG income where connection capacity allows.
500+ kWp single site
25yr System design life
90% self sufficiency
4–7yr Typical payback
Site assessment process
How agricultural projects are assessed

From site visit
to generation

1
Site assessment
Roof and land survey, structural assessment, grid connection review, consumption data analysis and operational load profiling.
2
System design
Array sizing, battery specification, yield modelling and 25-year financial projection with SEG income and tariff sensitivity analysis.
3
Planning & grid
Permitted development confirmation or full planning support. DNO application and G99/G100 management where export is included.
4
Installation
Phased installation programme minimising disruption to farm operations. MCS-certified installation and commissioning.
5
Monitoring
Live generation monitoring, yield vs modelled review, battery scheduling and SEG export reporting.
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Request a
site assessment

Every agricultural site is different — roof orientation, structural condition, operational load pattern and grid capacity all vary. A site assessment gives you a clear picture of what's achievable and what it returns before you commit to anything.

Request a site assessment → Talk to an engineer