Harvest Green Developments have supported Mansfields since our initial conversations in 2021 by building out two commercial Solar PV arrays and setting up a custom metering arrangement to allow them full visibility of every kWh consumed per supply on site.
Mansfields have a bold ambition to be as environmentally friendly as possible, across their 10+ farms in Kent, UK. Winners of the Cold Chain Federation’s Energy Efficiency: Small Cold Store of the Year in 2023 and 2024 and Sustainable Cold Storage Operator of the Year in 2024, they are a company that takes energy efficiency very seriously.
Today, Mansfields grows over 25,000 tonnes of fruit each year over 3,000 acres of farmland. To do this Mansfields employs more than 1,400 workers, each worker involved in the picking and packing of fruit at their farms across Kent. The business is proud to have worked with the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, who have supported them with grant aid for four projects at Nickle Farm.
Key Facts
We completed our first commercial solar install on behalf of Mansfields in 2022, installing upon the newly extended Tunnel E/F building, upon which we installed 298kW of Solar PV modules. We followed this up in 2023 by installing upon Packhouse 4, with another 242kW of commercial solar PV. The installations are forecast to generate over 510MWh per annum.
We also manage the previous installations at this site, completed by other contractors over the years, to allow Mansfields to maximise their return on investment and minimise loss of production. There are three electricity supplies at Nickle Farm, each monitored independently to provide generation information, plus import and export data via the Juggle Energy platform.
To date, Mansfields have installed over 2.5MW of Solar PV at Nickle Farm, making it a true Solar success story!
Sector: Food, Drink & Cold Storage
Mansfields provides a complete service in fresh produce, specialising in growing premium quality fruit at scale and providing professional storage and packing services 365 days a year. Mansfields produce and pack Cherries, Strawberries, Apples, Pears, Plums and Apricots, supplying the produce to the UK market throughout the year.
Food processing and cold storage are heavy on energy consumption by nature of the harvesting, processing, and storing of the produced food. The sector relies heavily on machines and other automated systems to move food safely and quickly from farm to supermarket. This makes energy efficiency essential in order to be more sustainable and to save on energy costs.
Install Type
Solis string Solar PV System with a DC system size of 540kW coupled up to 420kW of inverters. Import & Export monitoring to allow the client to measure energy use within the facility.
Technology
The Solar PV system installed for FW Mansfield & Son includes: Solis inverters, with Solar PV modules from Trina Solar, and mounting kit from K2 Mounting Systems and Antai Mounting Systems. We also installed export limitation panels to meet the UK Power Networks export limitation requirements!
How we can help
Harvest Green Developments look forward to supporting your business on your journey towards net zero, cheap energy and self-sufficiency. Check out out our guide on how we build renewable energy systems here.
