C&F Green Energy design, manufacture and install small to medium sized wind turbines which can offer substantial savings on annual energy costs for the farm, home and across all industry sectors.
We visited the pioneering Irish company’s manufacturing plant in Athenry, County Galway to find out more about the exciting product range from Amanda Flaherty. This global firm with a local face has manufactured and installed over 1,000 units across Ireland and the UK. With new installations occurring in Italy, Switzerland, France and Japan in 2015, this pioneering company has made great progress since its inception a decade ago.
C&F Green Energy is part of the globally-renowned, Irish-owned C&F Group, which was established in Galway in 1989 and now employs over 1,800 people in seven sites worldwide (Ireland, Germany, UK, Czech Republic, Philippines, USA and China), with turnover of €140m. The C&F Group supplies key components to the automotive, IT, air conditioning and refrigeration industries and has been awarded multiple global contracts by major companies such as IBM, EMC, BMW Group, Mercedes, Ford, Volkswagen Group and Thermo King.
C&F Green Energy was established in 2006 when the group, with a wealth of experience in manufacturing recognised the need to provide a more powerful and safer wind energy solution for the farm, business and homes.
The Group was established by Galway man John Flaherty, who was a toolmaker by trade. With C&F Green Energy, his aim was to provide a cost effective wind energy solution to farmers and small businesses. “Here in Ireland, we currently have 147 turbines installed, while we have about 900 in the UK, most of which are owned by farmers,” notes John’s daughter Amanda. “The most popular turbines are CF20-20kW, annually these will produce between 45,000 and 55,000kW of energy an average site.”
The company assembled a world-class team of industrial design experts to deliver solutions based on innovation and engineering excellence. All C&F Energy wind turbines boast advanced megawatt technology not commonly found in small to medium sized wind turbines. Unrivalled power performance as well as being aesthetically pleasing and competitively-priced makes C&F Green Energy wind turbines a worthwhile investment.
This design technology and competitive pricing has enabled them to compete efficiently in the European and global wind markets. The sale of C&F Green Energy’s wind turbines has spread rapidly throughout Ireland and the UK as well as, more recently, into mainland Europe and beyond. Offices were opened in Italy and Japan in 2014, and a USA office is scheduled to open in 2016.
Turbines are also sold to investors. Three of the large CF60-60kW turbines have just been installed in Italy and 27 more have been shipped, with ten more on their way before the end of January.
Twelve CF20-20kW turbines been shipped to Japan at the time of writing with an additional 30 due to be shipped in the first quarter of 2016.
While wind turbines on farms are more viable in the UK &Northern Ireland than in Ireland , (as farmers there are paid for energy that they don’t use and which is exported back into the grid) Irish customers can still obtain substantial savings on annually energy costs, particularly those who run dairy farms and piggeries, poultry producers, mushroom growers etc. “They can make massive savings on their electricity costs every year and there is definitely a big payback despite the initial cost of installation.”
Regarding the cost of having a turbine installed, C&F Green Energy can work with its partners to help secure agreeable finance for farmers to help offset this. The turbines are wholly manufactured on site in Galway. “The nacelle, blades and all the components, generators etc. are built here. We also design and programme the controller and our engineers design the towers as well.”
A complete, one-stop shop service is provided from start to finish. “We design, manufacture, supply and install the turbines and do all the work ourselves,” Amanda confirms. “We put in the foundations, put the turbine in place and service it thereafter. We monitor it using GSM monitoring software and the controller is linked to our 24/7 control room remotely.”
Farmers who have had C&F wind turbines installed on their farms have been very impressed by the results. For example, dairy farmer Willie Donohue reports the following positive experience:
“Our 150 P.B.R. Holstein herd produces liquid milk all year round for Aurivo Co-op. Our energy demands are high, particularly given that we require a hot wash of the dairy unit every morning and evening. I had always thought that we had a suitable site for a wind turbine and having looked at the various makes and models, I decided that C&F Green Energy produced the best machine on the market.
“Since installing our CF20 wind turbine, my energy costs have been massively reduced. The wind turbine heats the hot water tank through an immersion to 100°c every day, even in very low winds. Our electricity bills have been greatly cut too. During the windier months we’ve found that our electricity bills were reduced by over 70%. With results like this, any dairy farmer with an open site has to consider a C&F Green Energy wind turbine.”
Fellow dairy farmer Kevin Callanan is in complete agreement: “We have 125 milking cows, and out energy usage is very high. Since installing our CF20 wind turbine in 2012, our electricity bills have reduced by 85%. We are extremely satisfied with our investment.”
Regarding the future of this global-reaching family business Amanda says they will continue to develop and supply a growing range of cost-effective wind turbines: “We are developing our 250kw turbine at the moment – the CF 250,” she concludes. “This is a larger turbine to complement our current range -CF11, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75 and 100. It is currently in design and we hope to launch the CF250 in the summer of 2016 to suit both investors and large farmers, targeting the Northern Ireland market specifically.”
As ever, considering the high quality of C&F Green Energy’s products, global demand is certain to follow.
C&F Green Energy
Cashla,
Athenry
County Galway.
Tel: 091 787221
Email: [email protected]
www.cfgreenenergy.com
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 1, January 2016
