A solar farm at Mackie’s of Scotland generated enough power to make more than 725,000 gallons of the Aberdeenshire dairy firm’s ice-cream during the first year of green-energy production.
Scotland’s largest privately owned solar scheme, based on the Mackie family’s farm at Westertown, Rothienorman, was built by Loch Lomond-side firm Absolute Solar and Wind (ASW).
With a total installed capacity of 1.8 megawatts (MW), the 10-acre site complements four wind turbines generating a further 3MW and guarantees peak power over the summer as wind levels drop.
Mackie’s managing director Mac Mackie – one of the firm’s three sibling owners – said his late father, Maitland Mackie, the firm’s founder and a passionate environmentalist, would have been thrilled by the solar performance.
He added: “My father was a pioneer in wind energy, trialling wind-power with an early 50KW (kilowatt) model in 1982 and later rejoicing in the output from our four wind turbines, which … were installed in stages from 2005.
“The solar farm was completed in 2015 and this development carries on his dream of converting Mackie’s – and Scotland – towards self-sufficiency in renewable-energy.
“Thanks to that foresight, we now export a surplus of renewable electricity to the grid – a huge step towards our vision to become the greenest company in Britain.”
The 7,000-panel solar farm is capable of creating enough electricity to power 485 homes and is on track to record just under 1.5million kilowatt hours for 2016 – 5% above estimates, thanks to good conditions.
ASW solar product director Andrew McGown said: “We are honoured to play a part in making Mackie’s energy efficiency dream a reality.
“Mackie’s ambition is setting a new standard and I’m sure others that share a sustainability objective will be inspired by their success.”
Mr Mackie added: “We’re constantly challenging ourselves to be as green as possible and working with Absolute helps us ensure we get the best out of our renewable solutions.
“The results that the team at Absolute have helped us to achieve from the first year are very pleasing, showing that even north-east Scotland has enough sun to make a solar farm a success.”
A smaller array of solar panels is fitted on the farm’s byre roof, wile Mackie’s also boasts a further 400KW of office and home heating power generated by a biomass plant.
Packaging is now produced on the farm, reducing mileage associated with deliveries, while the Mackie family’s environmental credentials also include a renewable-energy scholarship at Aberdeen University.
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