Puffin Produce, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire

2MW Solar PV Installation

5100 Solar Panels

Over 16 Roofs

Since the 1970s Puffin Produce have been proud to offer Welsh customers the best Welsh potatoes, grown, picked and packed in Pembrokeshire. Puffin Produce is now the largest supplier of Welsh produce in Wales, supplying a wide variety of potatoes and seasonal vegetables to multiple major retailers and wholesalers. Puffin Produce pride themselves on giving local farmers a fair deal, always remaining true to their collective roots, meaning that when they do well, farmers do well.

Puffin Produces Requirements

Potato storage needs to take place at a temperature below 6’C to prevent sprouting. In nature the warmer temperature indicates Spring, and the potato will begin sprouting naturally. To prevent this process, potatoes are stored beneath 6’C until they are ready for shipping. As it is difficult to keep cold stores reliably cold, most potato producers spray them with a preservative to further reduce sprouting. At Puffin Produce the drive towards a reliable product with minimal chemical intervention, refrigeration is kept at 3’C, closely monitored and managed.

These power hungry cold stores require a lot of energy to operate particularly during the summer months. This energy requirement matches perfectly with solar PV production and by running the stores to a target of 2’C during the day and 4’C at night the refrigeration equipment can work harder when solar productivity is available and maintain the mean temperature of 3’C.  Perfect for keeping potatoes fresh for months.

Collaboration

Puffin Produce required more than a sub-contractor; they needed a partner. Silverstone Green Energy and Puffin Produce worked together to devise a solution that would meet Puffin Produce’s energy demands but that would not negatively impact their estate and could be installed without interrupting productivity. A joint effort between Puffin Produce, Silverstone Green Energy, Havenkey (electrical contractor) and National Grid was formed in order to deliver the project.

Construction Challenges

Puffin was a complex campus of buildings with many vehicle movements throughout the day and is strictly controlled environment in terms of health and safety culture, Puffin Produces team of in-house health and safety officers worked closely with the project team to ensure that the highest possible standards of health and safety were followed and seen to be followed at all times. Some of the buildings were as high as 15m above ground level and enduring roof access was provided as a part of the project wherever possible. This means that man safe systems were installed throughout the estate to facilitate the long-term maintenance of the solar arrays.