In late 2017, Australia’s No1 commercial solar installer, Todae Solar, completed a 320kW rooftop solar system for Pace Farm at its Minchinbury site.
The installation is in addition to the 3.5MW of solar panels Todae Solar has previously installed for poultry farms across Australia.
The impressive rooftop solar installation shown in the video above was part of a total 1.7MW installed by Todae Solar for Pace Farm. The $3.2 million investment by Pace Farm is expected to deliver an annual energy output of over 2.5 million kWh.
Commercial solar energy for the poultry industry is a fantastic opportunity to gain large energy savings, while also creating a more sustainable future for generations to come. Additionally, a recent report outlined that renewables will soon overtake fossil fuels as the cheapest source of new-build energy.
Poultry farming is an energy-intensive agribusiness that has essential electricity requirements. Major egg suppliers in Australia are choosing solar electricity options for their business to cover the rising costs involved with temperature management of sheds or the transportation of feed and fresh water. These measures are integral in ensuring the chickens are living in suitable and safe conditions.
These electricity requirements combined with the large rooftop and ground space available make poultry agribusiness an ideal candidate for solar installations.
Todae Solar has enjoyed the tough challenges involved with delivering solar systems tailored for the poultry industry. About these challenges Todae Solar’s Head of Strategy, Landon Kahn commented; “With any business, large or small, we first acquire all the energy usage data we can and then our experts tailor a site-specific scheme that best suits that business, whatever it is”.
This is especially important in the poultry farming industry, as there are opportunities to install rooftop or ground mount solar panels, or a combination of the two at the same site. These processes are completed with precise planning and management to ensure the daily operation of the farm isn’t impacted.
In addition to the benefits gained from Todae Solar’s high-quality service throughout the engineering, procurement and construction stages, clients can also expect consistent financial savings. Poultry farms choosing to install solar systems with Todae Solar have an opportunity to reduce their costs by an estimated 15 to 30% per kWh, depending on the individual sites and their circumstances.