Newington Farm slashed operational overheads by installing an NPS 100-21 turbine to power its intensive cold storage operations. With a projected 7-8 year payback, the farm now exports surplus energy, turning a cost into a revenue stream.
The Challenge
Managing a 380-acre potato operation alongside 1,600 acres of contract farming requires immense energy, primarily for cold storage. Russell Brown and his family faced several critical hurdles:
- Intensive Energy Demand: The farm operates three cold stores with a capacity for 4,500 boxes, leading to high operating costs.
- Technical Complexity: The owners felt “out of their comfort zone” regarding wind speeds, grid connections, and kW hours.
- Market Volatility: High agricultural outgoings made it essential to find a way to stabilize energy efficiency and cut expenses.
Our Solution
The family selected the NPS 100-21 turbine after consulting with experts at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). The installation was optimized for the farm’s specific needs:
- Gearless Design: The Permanent Magnet Direct Drive technology reduces the cost of ownership compared to traditional gear-driven turbines.
- Community & Planning Friendly: With a tip height under 40m, the turbine simplified the planning procedure.
- Grid Optimization: The 100kW model was chosen because the existing farm transformer could handle the load without expensive upgrades.
- Rapid Implementation: Planning was passed in March 2012, and the turbine was grid-connected by November.
Results
The performance of the NPS 100-21 has directly improved the farm’s bottom line:
- High Energy Yield: The turbine produced 150,000 kWh in its first nine months from an average wind speed of 6 m/s.
- Revenue Generation: The farm uses just over half of the power generated and exports the remainder back to the grid via the Feed-in Tariff (FiT).
- Rapid ROI: The projected payback period is just seven to eight years on a machine with a 20-year expected life.
- Operational Stability: By “double-cropping”—harvesting wind above while growing crops below—the farm is safeguarded against volatile energy costs.