Zestec Renewable Energy, a power purchase agreement (PPA) provider, has announced a partnership with UK retailer Co-op to deploy up to 30MW of rooftop solar installations.
Across Co-op’s 700 UK sites, solar installations will form part of the retailer’s efforts to achieve its ambition of net zero by 2035. Under the PPA model, Zestec will design, develop, fund, and actively manage rooftop solar PV systems meaning Co-op will not have to foot any upfront capital costs.
The first phase of the rollout is underway, seeing Zestec and its delivery partner Custom Solar identify around 25 initial sites to deploy the first 1MW of solar PV. The company’s COO, Toby Smith, said Zestec is “thrilled” to support Co-op’s investment in onsite clean power generation, adding that the milestone “shows how funded on-site PPAs are a powerful way to make meaningful and scalable inroads towards net zero”.
Co-op group property and sustainability director Heather Thomas said: “Our investment in onsite power generation across our estate is part of Co-op’s commitment to playing its role in the transition to Net Zero. This project, alongside increasing our investment in corporate power purchase agreements, is crucial to guaranteeing that the energy we use in our operations is renewable and traceable.”
Zestec is part of Octopus Energy, having been acquired by the utility’s generation arm late in 2022. Earlier this year, it installed a 710kWp solar system for the “world’s largest vertical farm”, owned by the Jones Food Company.
This is the latest in Co-op’s efforts to implement solar power into its operations. In April, it announced two partnerships: a “major partnership” between the Midcounties Co-operative and Big Solar Co-op, and a PPA to procure the power generated at ScottishPower Renewables’ Coldham solar farm in Cambridgeshire. ScottishPower Renewables will supply Co-op with a peak capacity of 9MW of clean energy—enough to power roughly 55 Co-op food stores.