Energy when you need it – Morning & Evening

Key attributes and features of the solar energy fence™,

  • Very high solar power available early in the morning and late in the evening.
  • Being a two-dimensional fence structure, it uses virtually no ground space.
  • Livestock can graze alongside and under the solar modules.
  • Solar energy production is equivalent to south facing roof systems at pitch angles of 30 – 40⁰ and up to 15% more than systems on roofs with pitch angles between 10 and 30⁰
  • Various fence configurations possible – single row and multiple parallel rows. Forage and tillage machinery can operate safely between module rows. The rows can also be arranged in a rectangle to create a perimeter enclosure
  • The support frame consists of galvanised steel mullions and crossbeams. Combined with the glass-glass bi-facial modules, this leads to a very long lifetime for the whole system. The height of the fence is typically 2m for a single row of modules and 3m for two stacked rows one above the other. The system is designed for high strength requirements, especially resulting from wind loads.

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Agri Solar-PV for Irish Dairy Farmers

The solar energy fence™ concept is based on the vertical installation of bi-facial (double sided) solar modules which utilize light shining on both sides to produce electricity. The two sides of the modules face east and west leading to a peak in solar energy generation in the morning and evening – ideal for dairy farmers link to bifacial advantages and farmers and testimonials.

Higher
Yields

The two sides of the modules face East and West; leading to peak energy generation. You can achieve 5% to 15% higher electricity yields (kWh/kWp).

Supporting Feed-in Profiles

Power generation is maximised for when you need it most: in the early mornings and evenings; directly benefitting from the market.

Farming and Agriculture

The solar installation adds minimal interference for normal land use such as dairy or crops and enables versatile agricultural utilisation.

Sustainability and Environment

Due to the linear structures and low degree of overbuilding, high-quality natural grass areas are created in which specific habitat structures can be established.

 

 

Featured Projects

The projects listed below give a quick overview of some of the projects that Sunstream Energy have been engaged with. Click on the Read More buttons for more details such as cost and energy generation statistics. Click on the sections in the main menu to see a full list of projects for that category.

Client Testimonial

With increasing milk production in recent years, electricity consumption had grown to over 70,000 KWh per annum on my dairy farm. I contracted Sunstream Energy to install a solar PV system in late 2019 with the objective of reducing electricity costs. I was a little aprehensive when they proposed a ground mounted system using double sided panels arranged in three rows facing east-west despite having ample south facing roof space. Sunstream claimed that their system would generate much more power compared to a roof mounted system during morning and evening milking times. They also advised that there would be virtually no loss of grazing ground and no risk of damage to the solar modules or indeed the cows.


Project Stats
Dairy farm Solar Energy Fence™ Waterford 2
Client/Company Farrell
Year 2020
Location Kerry
Project Overview
Client: Farrell
Year: 2020
Location: Kerry

Client Testimonial

I am very satisfied with the performance of the east west vertical bifacial solar PV system that Sunstream Energy installed on my dairy farm in 2019. In sunny conditions from the beginning of April through to the end of September it is very impressive to observe the system generating at full power when morning milking begins at 7am and evening milking finishes at 7pm. (link to graph). The system generated 27.5 MWh in 2020 which was half my total electricity consumption for the year. More importantly, 74% of the energy generated was consumed on the farm.


Project Stats
Dairy farm Solar Energy Fence™ Waterford 1
Client/Company Foran's Farm
Year 2020
Location Co. Waterford
Project Overview
Client: Foran's Farm
Year: 2020
Location: Co. Waterford

Case Studies

Dairy farm Solar Energy Fence™ Foran
Year 2020
Solar DC Capacity 27.40 KWp
Total energy consumed on farm 54.55 MWh
Energy from grid 34.28 MWh
Solar energy output 27.51 MWh
% self sufficiency 37%
% solar energy consumed 74%
% solar energy exported 26%
Energy storage employed Water heating 500 litre tank
Number of modules 72
Solar array configuration Single row 150m long

Client Testimonial

I am very satisfied with the performance of the east west vertical bifacial solar PV system that Sunstream Energy installed on my dairy farm in 2019. In sunny conditions from the beginning of April through to the end of September it is very impressive to observe the system generating at full power when morning milking begins at 7am and evening milking finishes at 7pm. (link to graph). The system generated 27.5 MWh in 2020 which was half my total electricity consumption for the year. More importantly, 74% of the energy generated was consumed on the farm.



Dairy farm Solar Energy Fence™ Farrell
Year 2020
Solar DC Capacity 24.30 KWp
Total energy consumed on farm 72.07 MWh
Energy from grid 55.72 MWh
Solar energy output 25.68 MWh
Solar energy consumed 16.35 MWh
% self sufficiency 23%
% solar energy consumed 65%
% solar energy exported 35%
Energy storage employed None
Number of modules 64
Solar array configuration Three row 50m long @ 15m centres

Client Testimonial

With increasing milk production in recent years, electricity consumption had grown to over 70,000 KWh per annum on my dairy farm. I contracted Sunstream Energy to install a solar PV system in late 2019 with the objective of reducing electricity costs. I was a little aprehensive when they proposed a ground mounted system using double sided panels arranged in three rows facing east-west despite having ample south facing roof space. Sunstream claimed that their system would generate much more power compared to a roof mounted system during morning and evening milking times. They also advised that there would be virtually no loss of grazing ground and no risk of damage to the solar modules or indeed the cows.



See All Case Studies