Bring me sunshine! Farmer installs 2,000 solar panels

A forward-thinking farmer has installed one of Britain's biggest solar panel operations in Shropshire after a £1.2m investment.

Edward Davies has installed more than 2,000 solar panels at his farms in Ludlow and Powys, which had combined energy bills of £40,000 a year.

The scheme includes a dramatic 150m long ground array of 1,200 panels at Comberton Farm, in Ludlow and a further 60m spread of 1,100 panels spanning three poultry sheds at Cottage Farm, near Presteigne in Powys.

As well as producing power for the farms the panels can produce enough raw electricity to light up nearly 150 homes. The project is expected to pay for itself within eight years.

"We wanted to look at renewable options to hedge our electricity costs," said Mr Davies. He gave sustainable energy specialists 7 Energy, based in Welshpool, a brief of finding the most cost-effective solution. "We were put in touch with Martin Dowley of 7 Energy who assisted us with the best way forward and went down the solar route. So far it's working very well."

The panels have been placed on chicken shed roofs and ground mounted displays to capture as much sunlight as possible. The solar arrays can produce enough electricity to power up to 144 homes.