90 kW Devon equestrian yard — arena and stable block

Client: Riding school and livery yard (45 horses) Location: Mid Devon Vertical: Equestrian Buildings System size: 90 kW across arena roof and stable block Annual generation: 82,000 kWh Annual saving: £18,500 Simple payback: 7.1 years

A mid-Devon riding school and DIY livery yard with 45 stabled horses across an indoor arena (60m × 25m), a covered horse-walker, and three blocks of American-barn-style stables (22 boxes each). Annual electricity spend before install: £28,500 across arena lighting, surface-watering pumps, stable-yard lighting, water heating, and tack-room HVAC.

90 kW rooftop PV split between the arena roof (52 kW) and the largest stable block (38 kW). 167 modules in total, two string inverters tied into the existing yard supply. Install completed in three weeks during the quieter summer livery period.

The system achieves 64% self-consumption — moderate, reflecting the lighter overnight baseload typical of equestrian operations versus dairy or poultry. The remainder exports under SEG at 10p/kWh.

Annual savings of approximately £18,500 in year one across cost avoidance and export income. Simple payback at 7.1 years — longer than dairy or poultry but still strongly economic on a 25-year asset. The riding school now displays a live-generation board in the tack room and uses the install as visible evidence for the school’s growing eco-conscious customer base — a real factor in customer retention as competing yards within 20 miles of the operation have not yet decarbonised.