Peterborough-based businesses Perkins Engines and Meadow Foods have submitted planning applications for the installation of solar panels on the rooftops of their city plants. Both companies hope to reduce their carbon emissions while making a profit from the UK’s feed-in tariff scheme.
Perkins has already started work installing 60kW of solar panels on the main building at its site off the Frank Perkins Parkway in Eastfield, while Meadow Foods, an independent dairy group supplying milk and cream products to major food manufacturers, hopes to install just under 50kW on the roof of its site in Whitehead Drove, off Fengate.
A Perkins spokeswoman said, “As part of our ongoing work to minimise our impact on the environment, we have initially installed 260 solar panels, equivalent to 60kW, on a part of the factory roof.
“This is a sizeable investment but one which ensures we can continue to utilise more energy from a renewable source and reduce our CO2 – in this instance, this will be a reduction of 28 tonnes a year.
“It’s estimated the solar panels will generate around 52,000kWh per year for our facility enabling us to make a small saving on our energy costs and reduce our demand on the National Grid.”
The planning documents submitted to Peterborough City Council by Meadow Foods said it is expecting to spend more than £155,000 installing its solar panels, which are estimated to generate an extra £16,111 in extra revenue for the firm through lower bills and the Government incentive structure.
The news follows Peterborough City Council’s plans to install a 1.5MW PV system on top of the former Freemans building, in Westwood.
