No rose-tinted spectacles for Good Energy customers Peter Bayliss and Susan Kilgour. These two have been wearing green-tinted binoculars for years, determined to bring into sharp focus their vision for a more sustainable world. In fact, the couple’s first weekend away together was to the Centre for Alternative Technology (C.A.T), a Good Energy partner. It was the completion of Open University courses in alternative technologies, however, that was “the real catalyst for going green,” says Peter.

In 2005, the couple bought Cwmbiga Farm, nestled in its own beautiful valley in remote mid-Wales. Peter and Susan are only the farm’s eighth owners in as many centuries with previous landlords including the fantastically named Prince Gwenwynwyn and a Chancellor of Oxford University.

Since buying the farm, Peter and Susan have added two eco friendly holiday cottages - both of which hold the Green Tourism Business Scheme’s Gold Award. They’ve also renovated the farmhouse and planted 1250 trees to promote further biodiversity. The couple are also tourism ambassadors for the Cambrian Mountains Initiative, a group set up to promote local food and responsible tourism within the Mountains, so they are spreading their message of a low carbon lifestyle even further.

Alongside all this building and renovation work Peter and Susan have been working hard to achieve their ultimate goal of being carbon neutral. Space and water heating for their three properties comes from 40m2 of solar thermal panels – one of the biggest privately owned arrays in Wales - and a 50kW log burning boiler, both installed in 2007. The next project is installing an 80m2 ground-based solar PV array, rated at 10kWp, later this year. Getting the solar PV array in place will be, says Peter, “a big step forward for us.”Keen to keep their carbon costs down and to support business in their region the couple are using a local company to install their new solar panels. They expect to spend £40,000 on the project. Under  the new  Feed-in Tariff they will receive 36.1p/kWh, and with approximately £100 of electricity costs saved annually, Peter and Susan look forward to earning around £3000 a year from their new installation. Each kWp is conservatively predicted to typically produce 800kw/year.

The introduction of the Feed-in Tariff was “fundamental to [their] decision” to start generating their own energy, says Peter. “It was absolutely a motivation, it changes the economics entirely,” he continued.Once up and running Peter and Susan will be supplying Good Energy with electricity from their new installation. Another homegrown generator to add to our growing community - taking us one step closer to achieving our goal of making the UK 100% renewable.