Volatile and ever-increasing energy prices hurt the bottom line for the poultry industry more than almost anything else. With prices going up one month, down the next, and then way up the month after that, it’s hard to run a consistently profitable poultry farm with this kind of uncertainty. And though most roller coasters go up and down, everyone knows this one will end up higher than where it started.
Energy consumption from poultry houses
Consider this poultry farm energy statistic from a 2011 USDA report:
About 3% of your total expenses come from energy consumption (this includes everything, even employees). Your poultry farm uses energy to power all the systems that keep the poultry warm, happy, and healthy, and enable maximum poultry production.
That means heating in cold seasons and cooling in warm seasons to sustain the required temperature for poultry houses, regardless of weather conditions. It means electricity for lighting and hot water. You also use energy to compensate for energy losses due to inefficiencies such as gaps in the walls or doors of your poultry houses. Some of those energy efficiency problems can be remedied without any solar panels or other forms of renewable energy.
But solar energy has the unique potential to deliver huge financial savings by enabling energy production right on the roofs of your poultry houses.
Suppose you have a 5% annual profit margin. If you could cut your energy costs from 3% down to 1%, your net profits go up to 7% — a 40% increase. Solar power makes that possible. Again, while these numbers are hypothetical, you know your real ones. Cutting a big chunk from your electricity bills will result in easy profit increases over time without having to raise your prices.
Let’s see how one poultry farm used solar energy production to bring his cost of electricity down by over half.
Solar power frees this poultry farmer from utility roller-coaster
In this poultry farm case study from an agriculture business in Georgia, you’ll see how financially beneficial solar energy proved to be for his bottom line. Then you can consider your own long-term energy consumption needs.
Taking control of his poultry house energy costs
This poultry farm has six poultry houses, and the owner was getting tired of looking at his unpredictable and ever-increasing Georgia Power electricity bills, reaching about $13,500 per year in 2016. Because of his deal with Tyson and other chicken processors, gas and electricity are the only major expenses for his poultry farm. Thus, any savings he can generate through solar power production will have a huge impact on long-term profits.
With the cost of energy consumption biting bigger chunks from his profits every year, he decided to take advantage of current solar energy tax credits and other incentives for solar panels and install a solar photovoltaic system, or solar PV.
He decided to own his power.
And after consulting with an Ag Solar representative and conducting an economic analysis of his poultry farm, he learned three more reasons to go solar:
- He has long, flat roofs — the ideal architecture for solar panels
- No loss of ground space — because of the long roofs, all his panels will fit on his roofs
- Southern exposure — south-facing roofs get the most direct sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere
Weather conditions in Georgia are ideal for solar power, with ample sunlight reliable for most of the year. Once his solar system was installed, nothing would be able to stop his solar panels from generating consistent energy production for years to come.
Here are his numbers:
65% minimum energy savings from solar
With his new solar panels now fully operational, this poultry farm owner expected to realize a minimum of 65% savings on his energy bills. But some months have lower energy consumption — such as in the transition from one poultry flock to the next — and then the savings from his solar PV panels go much higher. Many variables affect solar energy efficiency, so it’s never an exact prediction.
At first, the electricity produced from his solar panels translated to a minimum energy-bill slashing of $8775 per year. And the money he saves has increased even more in the years since his solar panels got installed, because the utility has continued to raise their electricity rates.
Solar energy production for over 25 years
With solar energy production leading to huge reduction in energy costs each month, plus the solar tax incentives, this poultry farm fully recovered his investment in his solar system within 5 years.
And because his solar panels are warrantied for at least 25 years, he’s now enjoying year after year of free electricity production, and will continue doing so for at least 20 more years.
Since his other poultry farm expenses remain more or less constant, all these savings become pure profit. With no effort at all — no marketing, no expansion, no remodeling, and no other renewable energy or energy efficiency investments he could have made — he’s pocketing nearly $10,000 in extra profits every year.
And regardless of how you feel about it politically, if a carbon tax ever gets enacted, poultry houses with solar panels will reap even more savings. Calculate your solar power energy needs.
Why solar power remains the best renewable energy option
The Georgia poultry farm demonstrates the supremacy of solar power over all the other renewable energy systems you could pursue.
The wide open spaces and huge flat roofs of poultry houses are ideal for solar PV systems. Solar panels have little chance of ever being impeded by shade from trees.
In contrast, wind power is much more dependent on climatic conditions. The sun comes up every day. Even behind clouds, your solar panels will still produce some energy. And it’s very rarely cloudy, dark, and rainy the entire day. But wind comes and goes, and it doesn’t always blow in the same direction. Plus, you have to use ground space for windmills and maintenance is much more costly.
Solar power delivers easy, simple, consistent, and reliable energy production, and requires very little added infrastructure.
How much will your poultry farm save?
When it comes to using solar power generation on your own poultry farm and the money you can save, you can see some of the factors in play just from this one case study. Consider your own poultry houses for a moment:
- Which way do the roofs face?
- How much roof square footage is available?
- What are your total energy costs each year?
- How much higher is that from five years ago?
- How long will your payback period be, with all the solar energy incentives?
Solar power technology continues to improve, and the cost continues to decline. Back in 1977, solar power cost $76.67 per watt. By 2014, it was just 36 cents! Instead of decades before your solar system pays for itself, it’s now only years. How many years depends on various factors such as your poultry farm’s location, the number and type of solar modules you install, your total energy consumption, and the production of your poultry houses. Now you can use it for everything from cooling breeder houses to running remote solar power water pumps.
The great news is, with federal solar tax credits and the REAP grant, your poultry farm can install a conventional system of solar panels for less than half the quoted price. Sometimes way less.
In other words, this summer, the outside temperature won’t be the only thing that’s hot in Georgia. The solar PV energy industry is hot too, and now is the time to make a long-term investment in your poultry farm’s energy future.
What to find out how much your energy bills will go down with solar power?
Ask for a no-pressure solar consultation from an ag industry expert
