Quickes turns to renewable energy for lower bills

UK-based cheese maker Quickes Traditional has had a 200-panel solar PV system installed. “We use electricity continuously,” says Adam Reeves, farm manager at Quickes Traditional. “We carry out every process onsite ­ from milking our herd of cows to maturing the finished cheese for up to 24 months. Bills are particularly high during the summer months, when the weather is hotter, but thankfully this is when our solar PV system will work to its highest capacity All of the electricity it generates will be used to help power our refrigerators.”

Quickes selected SunGift Energy to carry out the work after the company designed a bespoke system for the roof of its cheese store, rather than a ground mounted system on land as suggested by other installers. An average solar PV system provides around 50 per cent of the energy it generates directly to the business that owns it, while the remaining 50 per cent is exported to the national grid. However, businesses like Quickes that have constant energy needs will often use all the output.

“When we initially looked at getting a system installed, the numbers looked good, but it would have taken up valuable farming land,” adds Adam. The 50 kWp system will produce around 44,000 kWh of electricity per year ­ enough to power the equivalent of 13 average houses and reduce carbon emissions by 23 tonnes each year.