Aberdeen and Northern Eggs case study

Investing in renewable energy is proving to be a ‘win win’ for Aberdeen and Northern Eggs.

As well as the financial benefits of saving on energy costs and selling excess power to the grid, the onsite wind turbine reinforces the company’s environmental credentials.

“We are retailers as well as farmers and being seen to be green is becoming increasingly important for consumers,” explained Robert Chapman, who runs the family-owned business at Strichen in Aberdeenshire with his wife Ethel and son Iain.

The 800kW turbine was commissioned in July this year after three years of planning and preparation.

It powers farm buildings and packing lines for the company which has 245,000 laying hens producing some 1.5 million eggs a week, and  packing a further 500,000 eggs all under the Farmlay brand.

“In total the turbine has been an investment of around £1.2 million but we are hoping that the payback time will be around four to five years depending on wind speeds,” said Robert.

The introduction of the Feed-in Tariffs earlier this year has made the investment more attractive.

With an estimated 60% of the turbine’s output going to export, the company decided to negotiate a Power Purchase Agreement instead of taking the export tariff available under the Feed-in Tariffs scheme.

Green Cat Renewables, the consultants who have worked with Aberdeen and Northern Eggs throughout the project, recommended SmartestEnergy and an initial one-year agreement has been signed.

“The returns under the agreement are certainly more attractive financially than the export tariff,” said Robert.

The company, the largest egg producer in northern Scotland, is already considering a further investment in wind generation at a neighbouring site.

“Our first turbine has been a very interesting project to be involved in and I’m sure many other companies will be looking at setting up their own renewable generation in the future.”

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