Glenavy farm is feeling the heat

William Johnston recently installed a solar water heating system on the roof of his milking parlour as part of the NIE SMART Farm Solar Water Heating grant and he is already seeing the financial and environmental benefits.

The solar water heating system will provide hot water for William’s parlour, which milks 175 cows twice a day, and will help to reduce his farm’s energy costs.

William says installing the solar panels was an opportunity not only to save on energy costs but also to protect the local environment.

He says; “We wanted to introduce a renewable energy technology at the farm and, because of the amount of hot water we use in the milking parlour, the solar water heating system was the best option for us.

“Thanks to the system we are not only making considerable savings on our farm energy bills but it feels good to be embracing a renewable ‘clean’ energy. The grant support available from the NIE SMART Programme certainly gave us the incentive to invest in the solar water heating system and we were very pleased with how quick and easy it was to install.”

Kirsty Pollock from Power NI, visited William at his farm this week. She said: “Installing solar water heating will not only have a positive impact on farm energy bills, which is especially welcome in the current economic climate, but it will also help the local environment in terms of reduced carbon dioxide emissions. We hope that this example will help to encourage more local farmers to consider a more sustainable future.”

To find out more about energy saving grants and offers visit the Power NI website www.powerni.co.uk.