Case Study:
Germinal GB Ltd, Lincoln

Germinal GB Ltd

535.36 kWp ( 1,414 panels) system in Lincoln

Making grass greener

Germinal is a seventh-generation family company specialising in agricultural, forage, amenity and sport grass seeds. Their customers range from farms to bowling greens, and premiership football clubs to legendary cricket grounds. Growing such specialised grass seed takes experience, backed by science. Developing a grass seed which delivers high nutrient and energy-rich forage for a farmer’s livestock is very different to seed which results in grass that can be played on by the world’s best sports people. It takes research, care, dedication and management, which is evident throughout Germinal’s extensive history.

Germinal’s commitment to long-term sustainability is clear. Through research and development, they make major contributions to sustainable plant breeding, helping to reduce greenhouse gasses and offering a more sustainable future for their company and their customers.

Clean energy with commercial benefits

When seeds are harvested, they are transported to Germinal’s processing and packaging site in Lincoln. From here, the crop is cleaned, dried, and packaged. This process, like many businesses in manufacturing, demands a high electricity input.

Germinal contacted Mypower to investigate how installing their own Solar PV system could help them to maintain a balance between commercial returns and continuing their sustainability journey. In April 2020, Mypower installed 200kW of solar PV across two of their commercial buildings. The systems, which generate 186,000 units of clean electricity per year, will reduce their carbon emissions by 61 tonnes, offering greener production of their grass seed in the long term. Being a sustainable business doesn’t mean Germinal have to make a commercial compromise. The solar PV offers them a 70% saving over their grid supplied electricity and a return on investment exceeding 15%.

A solar PV system for growth

Germinal will consume 65% of the electricity they produce from the commercial solar panels and the rest will be exported and sold to the grid. As their business grows, so will their energy demands. Germinal’s solar PV will meet their future electricity requirements and, in turn, they will see additional financial and carbon savings.

Key facts and predictions (for first system):

200.2 kWp (616 panels) - installed by Mypower.
186,052 kWh - units of energy produced per annum.
£21,644 - projected first year income and savings, assuming 65% of electricity used on site.
15.6% - projected first year return on capital invested, before capital allowance benefits.
4.6 p/kwh - equivalent forward purchase price of 4,291,474 units of electricity over 25 years including estimated Operating & Maintenance costs.
61.4 tonnes - CO2 emissions avoided per annum.
6.39 years - system payback before finance, tax and capital allowance benefits.
£1,157,717 - 25 year income & savings after indexation.
70% - saving from solar PV electricity compared to grid supplied electricity at 15.2 p/kWh.

Overwhelming confidence in Solar PV

“We chose Mypower because they offered the most well-presented and relevant information. They provide an enormous amount of detail with technical information and figures but explain them in a way that someone with no experience of solar PV can understand. This gave us an overwhelming confidence in them, and that solar PV was absolutely the right road for us both in terms of sustainability and financial returns.”

Matt Stevens, Operations Manager - Germinal GB