Harvesting the sun

Rob Singleton has just installed more 120 solar panels on the roof of a barn on his 300-acre mixed farm near Alresford.

He reckons the electricity he will generate and the savings in power he will make could add up to around £10,000 a year. He estimates his electricity bill could be halved. The final connection is due to be made today.

Mr Singleton, of Ranscombe Farm, Bighton, said: “I’m harvesting the sun, just another crop.”

He said he had fears the panels could be an eyesore, but added: “It is very unobtrusive, more so than I thought. There’s no shine off it, which I was worried about. They blend in with the roof very well.”

He said there had a l r e a d y been great i n t e r e s t from the f ar mi n g community keen to tap into any new r e v e n u e source.

He advised other farmers to seriously look into utilising their buildings in the same way: “We looked into this and the numbers added up for me. It is a winwin situation.”

Mr Singleton, who has a 100-strong herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle and grows wheat, barley and oilseed rape, added: “During the day between April and September it will cover us, but not in the winter or at night. We haven’t got the sort of capital to put in storage for that.

“It’s nice to have it, it’s peace of mind for the future because electricity prices are only going one way.

“I read somewhere that in one hour there is enough sunlight to supply the world with electricity for one year.”

Ian Dunstone, of IDDEA Ltd, which installed the panels, said: “There are some farms in Hampshire with planning permission but I think this is the first to install them.

“I think they look good.

They are a sign of the times.

They can make an otherwise tatty-looking barn look very much up-to-date and modern.”

The panels will save the equivalent of 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming and climate change.

Mr Singleton said he had considered putting up wind turbines but decided it was too controversial. The wind speeds in this area are also not strong enough.