One of the UK’s largest potato distributors, Branston, has installed solar across a number of its sites in a move designed to slash its utility costs and its impact on the environment.
Renewable installer TGE Group completed the installation of over 2,300 solar modules across three of the distribution company’s sites. The four solar arrays total 637kWp and are estimated to generate 487,000kWh every year – negating the emission of 263 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the process.
Rupert Higgin, managing director of TGE Group commented: “We needed to design systems that suited the resources and requirements of each location as well as take into consideration the operational constraints of working on active food preparation sites. Despite this, all four projects were completed on time allowing Branston to benefit from a robust and sustainable system that reinforces its environmental commitment and offers a significant, 20-year buffer to rising energy costs.”
The solar installations also include monitoring systems to ensure that all of the arrays are performing to optimum levels as well as highlighting any failures quickly for quick responses.
The solar installations are the latest move from Branston to green its operations, Vee Gururajan, the company’s projects director explained: “We are committed to our strong environmental credentials and extending our use of renewables, which already includes anaerobic digestion and water recycling systems. We use all our energy as efficiently as possible and try to reduce our energy costs so it made sense to look at other ways we could produce our own energy from a natural source.”