We are particularly proud we've helped a company that is highlighting the quality of Lincolnshire food

SOLAR energy is now being used to help produce one of Lincolnshire’s most famous exports.
Lincolnshire Poacher cheese has been produced by bothers Tim and Simon Jones from their farm near Ulceby for 20 years.
Now the pair are harnessing the sun to help them produce and mature their award-winning cheddar.
Stow-based energy company Freewatt has installed a 50KW system on the store where 200 tonnes of Poacher cheese are kept.
The 42,000 KWh per year will help the power the milking machines for the farm’s 230 cows, the equipment which makes the cheese and the refrigeration units used to keep the Poacher at exactly the right temperature to mature and store it.
Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese celebrated its 20th anniversary last month and is now spreading the county’s name across the UK and in the US as it sales continue to grow.
It is stocked in Waitrose and Sainsbury’s as well as a large number of cheese shops and delicatessens.
Jamie Oliver also uses Poacher in his new restaurant Union Jacks as the main ingredient on his British version of the margarita – the Margaret.
The energy produced by the system is enough to power 14 homes a year and will save nearly 22 tonnes of CO2 per annum. The Jones brothers already have a wind turbine at their farm.
“We had been thinking about solar power for some time but we wanted the best technology and to work with a company we trusted and Freewatt was the obvious choice,” said Tim.
“Even though the weather has been dull since the panels went up the electricity they are generating is already outperforming our expectations.”
Freewatt Managing Director Julian Patrick said his company specifically used panels proven for their high performance in the county’s climate and because they were ammonia resistant in an environment with lots of animals.
“We are increasingly focusing on farmers and larger PV systems,” he said.
“Most farmers can really benefit as they use quite a lot of electricity and have either roofs or ground space available.”
“As a local company we are particularly proud that we’ve helped a company that is highlighting the quality of Lincolnshire food and promoting the name of the county across the world.”