Farmer Eavis revealed to eFestivals that work is nearly complete on the Worthy Farm's solar electricity system (the UK's largest private) with 1,500 square metres of solar panels, which will generate the same amount of power annually as used by around 30 homes. The completed solar panel system is due to be unveiled at the farm next month.

Over a thousand solar panels sit atop the farm's huge barns which are home to the Worthy Farm herd while the Festival is on. On a sunny day the panels are expected to generate some 200kW of power enough to meet the power demands of the farm. Any power which isn't used by the farm will be exported to the National Grid.

Because solar panels create clean electricity, the Worthy system will save around 100 tonnes of CO2 a year (equivalent to the total annual footprint of 10 people in the UK).

Michael Eavis said of the project back in February, " It's a very exciting project for us. We first had renewable energy at the Festival in 1979 and we've been trying to increase it ever since. We want the Festival, and the farm, to be as green as they can be. The solar panels will make a huge contribution towards that."

Michael told the Times “I’ve been planning this for a long time but the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has brought home just how urgent it is that we move to renewable energy”. The Festival already runs the weekend event on biodiesel generators but the new ‘feed in tariffs’  will allow Michael to sell the energy he generates to the National Greed - meaning that solar power is green, clean and economically attractive too.  The solar panels, covering 1500 sq metres of ‘Mootel’ roof, will cost £550,000 to install but could produce revenues of £45,000 per annum, as well as reducing the Farm’s electricty bill, and should take six years to recoup the outlay, and then Michael says he will reinvest profits into more solar generating capacity.

This installation reinforces the opinion that farm buildings will be one of the most commonly used surfaces for PV installations in the UK.