Commercial Solar Installation at Frith Farm, Tadley, Hampshire

The result

A 71.76 kWp commercial solar installation designed as the first phase of a larger renewable energy project at Frith Farm.

With the site using approximately 150,000 kWh of electricity a year, the system is predicted to generate 66,039 kWh annually, deliver an estimated £13,552 financial benefit in year one and achieve a four-year payback.

At a glance

The client’s objective

Frith Farm was using approximately 150,000 kWh of electricity each year, making energy costs a significant operating expense.

The initial objective was therefore straightforward: generate substantially more electricity on site, reduce reliance on grid power and bring down the farm’s ongoing energy costs.

The scale of the site also presented an opportunity to think beyond a single installation and consider how solar could potentially be expanded across several farm buildings over time.

The Phase Energy solution

Phase Energy installed a 71.76 kWp commercial solar PV system using 156 AIKO Neostar 460W panels across three buildings.

The installation uses three Fox ESS T Series inverters.

One of the selected barns did not previously have an electrical supply suitable for the solar connection, so the project included a new feed from the main supply using a substantial armoured cable. The necessary groundworks were carried out by the client as agreed before installation.

Why the system was designed this way

The original concept was considerably larger and explored the potential to use most of the nine or ten suitable buildings across the site.

Phase Energy initially applied to the DNO for approximately 150 kW of generation. Following the grid response, the project was reviewed with the client and it was agreed to begin with solar across three buildings.

This 71.76 kWp installation is therefore effectively phase one of what could eventually become a larger site-wide solar project.

The current system allows the client to assess the practical and financial performance of the installation before deciding whether to expand generation onto additional buildings in the future, subject to the relevant DNO permissions at that time.

Installation

The installation took approximately five days and no major installation difficulties were recorded.

Additional electrical infrastructure was required to provide a suitable feed to one of the barns, with Phase Energy incorporating the required armoured cable into the project and the client undertaking the associated groundworks.

Before committing to the project, the client also visited another commercial installation completed by Phase Energy, giving them an opportunity to see a working system and the standard of installation first-hand.