Leading meals provider apetito has announced plans to spend £1.3 million to dramatically increase the number of solar panels used across its main manufacturing site in Trowbridge.
The company has applied to Wiltshire Council for planning consent to install a total of 1,972 solar panels on the roofs of its factory buildings on the Canal Road industrial estate.
It wants to install 1,633 on the Mill site building, plus 156 on its vegetable preparation building and 183 on a flat roof over its offices and on two pitched roof over its canteen and the Wiltshire Farm Foods offices.
Trowbridge Town Council has raised no objections to all three planning applications.
Apetito says that with society’s ever-growing reliance on fossil fuels being a significant contributor to climate change, this investment in the use of renewable energy sources is more important than ever.
Lee Sheppard, apetito’s director of corporate affairs, policy and sustainability said: “When we set our carbon commitment to Net Zero back in 2021, it was extremely important to us that we did not simply make a claim without a strong commitment to act now.
“Having a clear three-stage carbon reduction plan in place ensures that we are being held accountable for our actions and making immediate change to reduce our carbon footprint.
“This significant investment in renewables highlights this commitment and our continued efforts to decarbonise the business in the right way.
“This project is an important milestone to reaching our ambitious short-term Scope 1 and 2 reduction targets by further increasing our self-generation of electricity, particularly across our manufacturing operations.”
In addition to placing the solar panels across roofs on-site, the meals provider has devised an innovative solution to build a car port dedicated to housing more solar panels to maximise generation.
Through this installation, due to take place from September, just over 10 per cent of all electricity used across the entire site will be generated by the panels, which will look to save an estimated 220 tonnes of CO2e for the business each year.
On the journey to achieving Net Zero by 2040, apetito says this project showcases firm commitment to acting now and reaching its ambitious short-term carbon reduction targets along the way.
With electricity representing almost 30 per cent of its Scope 1 and 2 emissions, this project is of high importance to ensure these short-term targets are met, apetito says.
apetito and sister company, Wiltshire Farm Foods, one of the UK’s leading homes meals delivery companies, employs more than 2,000 people in Trowbridge.
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