The state-of-the-art panels next to the car park will produce just over 90 per cent of Apley’s daytime electricity requirements at the farm shop, including the Apley Kitchen.
Coupled with an existing 10kW array on the roof of the Apley Play Barn, they will ensure that the farm shop in Norton, Shifnal, and all the local businesses on the site are fully powered by renewables.
The solar panels have been installed by low carbon specialists, Noble Green Energy and took just over a week to install. It is predicted that the new array will generate around 67,500kWh per year which will deliver significant carbon emissions savings of 18.4 tonnes over the 12-month period. Any electricity generated that Apley doesn’t need will be automatically fed into the electricity grid.
All the heating at the farm shop, café and businesses on the site is provided by a district heating system using wood chip which will be sourced from the estate as part of its ongoing Forestry Commission accredited woodland management programme. The solar panels are the ideal power source for Apley Farm Shop because much of the power usage is for refrigeration as well as daytime cooking in the Apley Kitchen.
