Meeting 100% of an organic dairy farm’s energy needs

Organic farm Acorn Dairy in Darlington, England produces almost six million litres of milk each year. The milk is delivered to over 4,000 households, schools, hotels, restaurants, leisure centres and supermarkets.

Acorn Dairy uses a lot of energy for their processing and bottling processes, pasteurising their milk and sterilising their equipment. By installing a DW54-500kW wind turbine at the farm, EWT realised their goal to become fully energy self-sufficient.

The wind turbine generates on average 1,350 MWh per annum, reducing the farm’s grid-supplied electricity demand of 400 MWh per year by 75%, to 100 MWh. Their diesel generator has been replaced by an electric one, saving 1,000 litres of diesel per week. The next step is: running their own electric delivery vans.  

Any surplus electricity is sold to the grid network. Against the ongoing backdrop of increasingly volatile milk prices, this additional income has enabled the farm to budget on a steady export price for their green electricity.