240 kW Shropshire pig finisher unit — high baseload

Modelled worked example. The figures below are modelled from typical 2026 UK costs, yields and tariffs for this building type and system size — this is an illustrative scenario, not a named client project.

Scenario: Indoor pig finishing operation (4,500 finishers) Location: South Shropshire Vertical: Pig Units System size: 240 kW across three finisher houses Annual generation: 228,000 kWh Annual saving: £52,000 Simple payback: 5.8 years

A south Shropshire indoor pig finishing operation processing 4,500 finishers at peak, across three climate-controlled finisher houses each 80m × 18m. Annual electricity spend before install: £74,500 across continuous ventilation, climate control, feed-system pumps, and farrowing-house creep heating during cold months.

240 kW rooftop PV across all three finisher house roofs — 440 modules, three string inverters, integrated with the farm’s 600A three-phase supply via auto-changeover to protect the critical ventilation load. A project of this kind observes full African Swine Fever biosecurity protocol during install (boot dips, restricted vehicle access, cleaning, AHDB-approved access permissions).

Modelled year-one generation: 228,000 kWh. Self-consumption sits at 86% thanks to year-round high ventilation and lighting baseload — pig units have some of the most consistent commercial farm electrical demand profiles. The remainder exports under SEG, modelled at 11.5p/kWh.

Modelled annual savings of roughly £52,000 in year one. Simple payback at 5.8 years; 100% AIA applied year one. For an operation supplying a major UK supermarket under long-term contract, an install like this feeds Scope 2 evidence straight into the supplier’s CDP Supply Chain return.