Aviva Insurance has moved one step closer to its goal of using 100% renewable energy to meet its electricity demand after installing solar panels on three of its UK buildings.

The new installations at the Perth (114kWp), Norwich (184kWp) and Bristol (244kWp) offices will enable Aviva to reduce its reliance on the national grid as well as contribute towards the organisation’s commitment to reduce its carbon emissions.

All three installations have been successfully installed and commissioned by Solarcentury and are already providing clean energy directly into the buildings to power lighting, office equipment and call centre operations in the Perth and Norwich locations.

The panels, which are expected to generate 445,000kWh of energy annually for the next 25 years, will also cut the company’s energy costs as the majority of energy used on site is during the day.

Remote monitoring has also been installed to give real-time performance data to the Aviva energy team.

Lee Preston, group carbon and utilities manager at Aviva Insurance, said: “We’re committed to understanding the organisational environmental impact and are now working hard to reduce it, through a range of initiatives that will help us to reduce our carbon emissions by 40% by 2050.

“We hope that by 2025, all electricity we use will be from 100% renewable sources. We already reduce our carbon emissions through energy efficiency measures such as LED lighting; we’re now taking this one stage further by investing in solar.”

Neil Perry, chief financial officer at Solarcentury, said: “Making use of unused roof spaces by installing solar is such a simple and cost effective way to help businesses save money and do their bit for the environment.

“Installing systems for Aviva across its Scottish and English sites demonstrates the opportunity for solar, even at these latitudes, and the energy demand perfectly matches the energy profile for these buildings.”

“Installing solar also demonstrates to employees and customers that the company is genuinely committed to reducing its environmental impact,” he added.