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Case Studies

Nocton Nurseries – Munks Agricultural

Nocton Nurseries – Munks Agricultural

Quick Facts

Sector: Commercial / Horticultural
Project: Biomass Boiler and Solar PV Installation
Location: Lincolnshire
Energy Output: 475MWh/yr solar, 4,500MWh/yr biomass
Carbon Saving: 1,446 tonnes CO2 per year

"This is a very busy site with three blocks of staff accommodation, a gym and over five acres of glass houses all requiring heat and power throughout the day and night. TGE Group was able to design an efficient three phase programme of works to install 600kWp of solar PV followed by two district heating systems of over 1MW."
Steff Munks, Munks Agricultural Contractors

The Project

Nocton Nurseries is a thriving UK bulb and flower business with a strong environmental commitment to reduce carbon emissions on site.  Landlords, Munks Agricultural Contractors, were keen to invest in green energy to help heat and power the site and generate extra revenue, benefitting both their own company and their commercial tenants.

The Solution

TGE Group presented a three phase programme of works to include solar PV and biomass technologies providing heat and electricity to multiple buildings.

In Phase I, the team installed a total 93kWp solar PV on selected buildings including four residential blocks and a gymnasium. The 280 panels were installed to suit each roof, generating 75MWh of solar energy for use in the buildings. Phase II of the solar PV installation saw an additional installation of 500kWp on two buildings, providing a further 400MWh of energy on site.

The design and installation of two district heating biomass boiler systems has also been agreed. The first is a 130kW Twin Heat boiler to supply heat for the estate office and gym, including a swimming pool. The installation includes 200m of heat main and 2 x 5,000 litre buffer cylinders.

The second system is a larger 995kW UTSW Schmid biomass boiler supplying heat to over five acres of greenhouses and a neighbouring building.  The installation includes a water cooled moving step grate system and two 5,000 litre capacity buffer cylinders.

“This is a multi-site, multi-technology system that will have a significant impact on fuel bills, whilst generating extra revenue through both the FiT and RHI.  The client has access to multiple fuel types that we had to consider when designing and specifying the boilers. The Schmid biomass boiler is capable of burning fast growing crop, wood pallets, pellets, wood chip all fed from the same bespoke, automatic fuel handling system with two fuel bays capable of also handing different fuel types at the same time if required.” Matthew Evans, Heat Director, TGE Group.

With an installation of this size, monitoring and maintenance become a crucial element of the project ensuring that the investment is protected and working at peak performance for the duration of its life.  Recognising this, Munks Agricultural Contractors signed up for an initial 12 month monitoring, maintenance and servicing contract. This gives the customer access to 24/7 customer care and an online portal, where they can view statistics on their systems’ output.

Energy Saving

The solar PV installations have a combined yearly energy generation capacity of 475MWh and an annual carbon saving of 243 tonnes. The biomass installations generate 4,500MWh and save1,235 tonnes of CO2 per year.

 

 

 

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