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How solar panels pay off for Cumbrian free-range egg farm

England
Farm Practices
grazing
land
Poultry
stacking enterprises
Renewable energy
Solar panels

Solar panels have recently become a contentious issue in the agricultural sector - particularly in open fields. The idea of integrating them with food production to help farm businesses diversify and increase income has sparked some debate. However, one farm business has demonstrated the benefits – as well as the limitations – of investing in renewable energy.

The Lakes Free Range Egg Co., based in Cumbria, is a large-scale producer of organic and free-range eggs. Its 150-acre home farm alone houses around 90,000 chickens, with additional farms across the Eden Valley also producing eggs in line with the company’s environmental ethos. To support natural behaviours, trees and native shrubs have been planted, providing the hens with a more comfortable outdoor environment.

For CEO David Brass, reducing energy costs became a key priority as the business expanded - alongside maintaining the highest animal welfare standards and cutting emissions. This led him to explore and ultimately adopt large-scale solar panel installations to power the company’s operations.

The basics - How the Lakes Free Range Egg Co. uses solar panels

David’s first move into solar power was to install panels on the roofs of the chicken sheds. Initially, he installed around 50kW of capacity, doubling it a few years later. 

At the home farm, roof space for solar panels had already been maximised, so David’s next step was to look at installing them in the fields. His solution was to mount the panels at least a metre off the ground at an angle of around 35 degrees.

For me, it's a great example of multiple land use. The chickens and sheep both use the fields with the solar panels as normal, and we're not losing anything.

David Brass

“Solar panels work well with poultry,” he explains. “Chickens love to scratch underneath them. They don’t actually like open spaces because everything eats them. They are at the bottom of the food chain. The panels encourage them to roam further into the field, giving them shelter, and a place to run if a buzzard or even a helicopter flies over.”

In addition to providing shelter and security for the chickens, David rents out the fields with the panels during spring, allowing a flock of Texel sheep to graze lightly. Through summer, the fields are left to wildflowers, before the sheep return mid-August once the flowers have mostly finished.

Currently, the field-based solar panels cover about a hectare of the home farm, which is not a problem for David given the size of his business. “It’s such a small proportion of our land,” he says. “For me, it’s a great example of multiple land use. The chickens and sheep both use the fields with the solar panels as normal, and we’re not losing anything.”

Most of the power is used during daylight hours by the chicken sheds and the egg-packing facility. However, a back-up battery - capable of storing around 0.75 megawatts - ensures power is available outside these hours.

How does having solar panels work financially?

David is clear that the main goal of installing solar panels at The Lakes Free Range Egg Co. is to make the business more self-sufficient in energy, reducing costs. While they occasionally generate a small surplus that can be sold back to the grid, David sees this rather as a bonus.

“This is primarily about powering our operations,” he explains. “You don’t get enough back from network providers to make much money selling extra power. We can export up to about 250 kilowatts, but I would rather be putting it into the battery and using it ourselves.”

He also points out that a large solar park or field of panels designed mainly for income generation would likely face far greater challenges in securing planning permission.

Pros and cons of solar panels for nature-friendly farmers

David admits that any farmer looking to scale up solar power will need a thick skin to handle the inevitable backlash from some members of the rural community. Despite his belief that solar panels can be a great example of multiple land use, opposition is very real.  

Solar panels fit well with most grazing systems, particularly for animals like sheep or free-range chickens. You just need to make sure they are high enough for the animals to graze beneath them while unable to rub against them.

David Brass

“There have been planning applications near me in the Lake District for solar farms of around 15 acres - well screened with big hedges so you can barely see the panels. However, the level of objections has been unreal.”

Another frustration for David is that, despite seeing firsthand how his chickens use the solar panels for cover, he can’t include them in the farm’s official APHA (Animal and Plant Health Agency) range area stocking calculations. He hopes authorities and decision-makers will take a more open-minded approach to the role solar panels can play in animal farming.

He believes his model - using solar to cut energy costs while occasionally earning a small financial boost from surplus power - would work well for many nature-friendly farmers.

“Solar panels fit well with most grazing systems, particularly for animals like sheep or free-range chickens,” he says. “You just need to make sure they are high enough for the animals to graze beneath them while unable to rub against them. I do think it could work for some arable systems too, though you’d need to be able to move big machinery around them.”