BU-NOT-SET
The photovoltaic solar system will save our Holmes Chapel site in the UK around € 170,000 a year and meet about a third of the site’s annual electricity needs.
The panels were installed as part of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), which required no up-front investment as a third party manages the installation, maintenance and ownership of the system. The financial savings for Recipharm are expected to amount to more than € 6 million over the 25-year agreement.
Avoiding over 200 tonnes of carbon each year
Overall, the system will reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 222 tonnes per year. This is equivalent to planting 3,500 trees every year over the 25-year lifespan of the project.
“The PPA company provided us with an investment-free turnkey solution that significantly reduces our annual electricity costs while decreasing our environmental footprint,” explains Rob Lester, Responsible Electrical and Instrument Engineer at Recipharm.
“Having a solar energy park on our site also sends out a clear message to our customers, partners and local stakeholders that we are serious about reducing our own emissions.”
The installation of the 2,300 panels began in the summer of 2022 and the system became operational in February 2023. The panels are positioned to provide a relatively consistent supply of electricity throughout the day with a peak production of 770 kW.
Meeting high summer energy demands and sharing good practice
“We expect to generate around 40 per cent of our electricity from solar power between late April and late September. This suits our operations well as we typically use a lot of energy during this period to power our Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioning (HVAC) systems for our temperature controlled areas,” says Lester. “We actually have more space on the site to expand the solar system in the future once we have evaluated its operation.”
The photovoltaic solar panel installation at Holmes Chapel has sparked interest from other Recipharm sites that are interested in installing similar systems and the site has shared its learnings.
