The event, hosted by leading renewable energy provider Amber Green Solar, a subsidiary of Amber Green Energy, organised the event because farmers making enquiries said they were unsure of the process of setting up solar PV on their farms and what technology was best to use.
Farmers from across Tyrone, Armagh, Newry, Fermanagh and Co Down got involved in three seminars which took place during the event at the Cohannon Inn.
Dwyer O'Neill, chief executive of Amber Green Energy, said the event was hugely successful because farmers were able to get much sought after information directly from Amber Green Energy and their partners.
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He said: "What struck home to us most is that farmers, from across Northern Ireland, clearly have a strong interest in developing solar on their farms but felt they did not have the relevant information which would take them through the stages of the process and about the different quality of panels available in the marketplace. The seminars held throughout the afternoon provided farmers with the most up to date information about planning, the law, technology and general advice.
"We gave a presentation on how farms can invest in Solar PV in 20 & 50Kw scale, how systems can be leased, or provided free via the Amber Green Roof / Ground lease scheme. Representatives also discussed the viability of large scale solar farms on 30 acre land holdings with access to sub stations and the grid."
Attending the event was David Trimble, a Renewable Energy Technologist at Cafre, College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise.
He said: "There were tremendous numbers there which shows how strong farmers feel about embracing greener solutions. The positive for me is that an expert was there from England who discussed the problems with some of the technology available in the marketplace and highlighted the importance of choosing quality products as opposed to cheaper ones. It was a fantastic event which was essential in delivering quality information for farmers."
Andrew Ryan, Partner at leading law firm Tughans said: "Tughans was encouraged to see the extent of interest in Amber Green's presentation and in the opportunities presented by solar PV development in Northern Ireland amongst the agricultural community. We are at the forefront of renewables development at all scales across the region and we look forward to assisting Amber Green in rapidly developing its business in this sector."
