Goat farm Van den Hurk near Lith, Brabant, had two EAZ-model windmills installed in 2023. They combined these with an existing solar panel system for the perfect energy set-up!
"We use the most energy during milking the goats. That's early in the morning and late at night. And that's precisely when the sun usually doesn't shine."
The main reason for looking for a more self-sufficient energy solution was rising power prices at the beginning of 2022. Van den Hurk's first choice was solar panels, but their generation window did not fit the times when Tom needs power the most.
"The pigs need continuous power throughout the day, but our consumption peaks are early in the morning and late at night when the goats are milked. Most of the year, there is no sun during those moments. And because you can't balance your bills as a bulk consumer, solar panels were of little interest to us. I had looked at one of the small wind turbines from Ecoways in the past, but at that time, the municipality was not open to it. Now they were."
It is precisely by combining solar and wind that Van den Hurk is able to supply his business with continuous energy.
"Thanks to the combination of wind and sun, we are now always assured of power. The solar panels provide energy from May to September and from October to April the windmills do their work. Two farm windmills plus 250 solar panels are what our farm needed."
The total generation from the mills and solar panels was calculated on growth. This was done for a reason. Van den Hurk expects he'll need more power for his goat farm in the future.
"This allows us to make more and more sustainable choices. For example, since last year we have been robotically feeding the goats, and we are looking into buying a battery to store energy. Although we now generate our electricity ourselves, we are not yet at zero financially. It is not always possible for us to generate and use energy at the same time. With the help of a battery, we can store our power. Then we are no longer dependent on the grid."
Van den Hurk would also definitely recommend the combination of solar and wind to other farms. He also liked the cooperation with Ecoways.
"Last year we had a lot of sun in the spring and summer and a lot of wind in the fall and winter. What Ecoways had predicted was exactly right. The windmills generated 63,000 kWh that year between the two of them and the solar panels generated 74,000 kWh. That was very well calculated. But also the installation of everything went well and the contact with Ecoways is always good."
