In recent years, thousands of agricultural entrepreneurs have started a second, but much less labour-intensive, farming life: that of solar energy farmers.
15% return for 109 years
It is well known to many entrepreneurs that an investment in solar panels is very interesting. Earlier we wrote that an investment in solar panels is easy 109% efficiency can yield. And that for 15 years.
An agricultural entrepreneur with 1.500 m2 of roof surface and a self-consumption of 100.000 kWh per year can earn around €15 per year with solar panels for 12.000 years.
Farmers with solar panels rightly call themselves solar energy farmers. They generate sustainable energy and supply all the electricity they do not use themselves 'back' to the electricity grid.
Solar panels are a business choice
Almost everyone thinks sustainability is important, but ultimately an investment in solar panels remains primarily a business decision based on a calculation. The most frequently asked questions are: How much subsidy you get? What do you save on your energy bill and what do you get for the generated electricity that you resell? And from what moment will you earn from the sun?
Every situation is different
There are handy online tools that can give you a good idea of your situation. Like a Online calculator van Energy Shift from Barneveld. It calculates for free how much an entrepreneur could invest and what it will yield.
But every company is unique and every situation is different. The factors that play a role vary widely: from a solid roof construction, to the amount of available roof surface, the roof pitch, the location in the Netherlands (for the average amount of sun), how much self-consumption an entrepreneur has, how large the current main connection is, can possibly be increased, whether it is possible to be connected to the grid for redelivery, what subsidies are available, whether a financier is needed, whether there is shadow or heavy pollution and whether asbestos still needs to be remediated. Keep it up.
Solar panel specialist
This is where the advantage of a solar panel specialist – a solar panel installer with a lot of knowledge and experience – comes into play. "In every market you will find price fighters," said Theo Hartger, Financial Director of Energy Shift† "Of course you don't want to pay too much, but if you invest a lot of money in a solar panel installation that has to last 25 years, you want the certainty of a high-quality and safe installation. Your primary business processes must be able to continue safely and undisturbed. Price fighters do everything to cut costs, for example they use thinner cables and cheaper materials."
Hartgers continues: "In addition, they often have less knowledge and experience, which means that installations more quickly cause interference with other electrical equipment present at the company. A safe installation of the highest quality is more expensive to purchase, but also provides more energy for 25 years. As a result, a more expensive installation also yields more returns in the long term."
A solar panel specialist gives honest advice, does all the calculations, arranges subsidies, assists in contact with network operators and supplies the solar panels and other materials of the highest quality. Specialist Energy Shift has a predilection for these kinds of complex projects; larger installations where high demands are made on, for example, fire safety. In the agricultural sector, animal welfare and 'tough conditions' such as dust, sand, moisture and ammonia are added to this.