Green Valley Farms: 150kWp Devon REPF + Full Expensing

The site

A 280-hectare mixed dairy and arable farm in mid-Devon. Electricity demand 320,000 kWh/year, driven by a robotic parlour, ice-bank cooling, and a grain-drying system that runs intensively August-October. The farm operates as an LLP rather than a limited company, so AIA applies rather than Full Expensing.

The brief

Owner wanted to scope a 150 kWp install on the parlour and grain-shed roofs. Annual electricity bill had risen 38% in 24 months due to grid price inflation and the third milking robot increasing demand.

What we did

The LLP structure meant Full Expensing did not apply, but Annual Investment Allowance gives 100% first-year relief on plant up to £1m — the same effect for a project of this size. We screened the project for REPF eligibility through Devon County Council’s economic development team.

The REPF narrative anchored on agricultural productivity outcomes: the cost saving allowed competitive contract grain-drying for two neighbouring farms, supporting one new seasonal job and £58,000 of additional rural enterprise revenue. This productivity framing is what scores well in REPF — pure decarbonisation pitches sit in the queue with every other generic application.

The numbers

• Headline capex: £115,000
• REPF grant: £40,250 (35% effective rate against eligible capex)
• AIA tax relief: £18,650 (~25% of net capex)
• Net cost: £56,100
• Annual savings (electricity displacement + SEG export): £24,000
• Payback: 4.8 years

What happened

Project commissioned May 2024. Self-consumption averaged 82% in year 1 (vs 78% modelled) thanks to the ice-bank cooling continuous load. Owner has since scoped a 60 kWp ground-mount expansion on a south-facing pasture corner.

Why it worked

Productivity narrative was decisive in the REPF application. A pure decarbonisation pitch would have sat in the queue; the contract drying outcome got the application to the top of the council’s scoring.