Mole Valley Farmers urges Government to halt new Feed-In-Tariff proposals
Mole Valley Farmers, a leading farm supplies cooperative, is urging the Department of Energy and Climate Change to reconsider its fast track review of Feed-In-Tariff (FiT) payments for large scale solar Photovoltaic (PV) projects.
The company argues that proposals to define solar sites above 50kW as large scale could impact negatively on many farmers who are aiming to reach electrical self-sufficiency by installing PV panels. Raising the threshold defining large scale sites to 250kW or above would enable more farmers to achieve this goal and create lower carbon agriculture. With the current FiT level support, this also has significant potential in creating more sustainable farming incomes and preserving farmer numbers.
For the last six years, Mole Valley Farmers has been running a project exploring renewable energy opportunities for its members after recognising the important role that it could play in the agricultural and rural sector. The response from members has been overwhelming with more than 1000 members registering their interest and more than 150 already in the process of installing panels. The companys vision is to create a Farmers Power Station – a virtual renewable energy power station for farmers and land owners to combine their generation scale and maximise the value to the rural economy. This would allow farmers to contribute to renewable energy generation while avoiding large-scale solar farms.
Steve Edmunds, Director, Mole Valley Renewables said: The FiT scheme is an important first step in making renewable energy a viable part of a sustainable future for farmers. It has the potential to empower the farming community and to lead on to many other sustainable energy initiatives, for example, anaerobic digestion. Its vital not to undermine farmers confidence and enthusiasm for renewable energy at this stage. The Governments fast track review of large PV schemes threatens to damage the potentially huge gains to agriculture, the rural economy and the environment from medium scale projects. We need to act to stop what could be such a beneficial scheme being unintentionally damaged by the Governments reaction to the perceived threat of a large number of solar farms being built.
Mole Valley Farmers is also voicing concerns that PV panels on ground mounts may be discriminated against in an attempt to prevent large-scale solar farms. It argues that in the agricultural sector, at low or medium scales, ground mounts offer several advantages over roof mounting – for example, being much safer to clean and maintain, offering higher productivity in most cases and being less intrusive whilst having little or no effect on food production.
Being predominantly based in the South West, Mole Valley Farmers members are situated in the prime area in the UK for solar power. Of all the renewable technologies within the FiT remit, PV is the most applicable, and often the only option, for those trying to achieve self-sufficiency in electrical energy needs.
Mole Valley Farmers was started in 1960 by a small group of farmers in South Molton, Devon. Today, there are 6,384 farmer shareholders and 22,000 country members. It is one of the largest employers in the South West, with a turnover of 281 million and more than 1,300 staff. Mole Valley Farmers is one of the few businesses based on a co-operative model in the supply industry, with a total commitment to the farming and rural industry. Over the years, the company has developed and grown, making investments in:
- Nine retail branches in the South West
- Mole Valley Farmers Online
- 4 compound feed mills for all animal feeds
- A network of 7 blending operations
- A mineral supplement plant
- A quality farm building and engineering division
- 21 SCATS Countrystores across the South, South East and South Wales
- Local agricultural supplies company Bridgmans
- A joint venture Mole Valley Forage Services
- CWG Countrystores Ltd with 11 stores at Stamford, Dereham, Bury St Edmonds, Colchester, Towcester, Melton Mowbray, Fauld, Newark, Darley Dale, Worksop and Market Rasen