Yearsley Group switches on renewable energy

Huge investment in roof-mounted solar panel installations

Yearsley Group, the UK's largest cold storage and distribution provider, has installed solar panels at two of its cold stores in England. The vast roofs at both the Heywood cold store in Greater Manchester, and Holmewood near Chesterfield in Derbyshire, have been fitted with a total of 5,000 sq metres of photovoltaic panels.

These installations – each of around 2,500 sq m – are among the largest roof mounted solar panel systems in the UK. Each system produces 310,000 kilowatt hours per annum, thereby saving upwards of 170 tons of CO2 per warehouse, and will reduce the Group's reliance on the national grid. It is estimated they will provide each of the cold stores with up to 10 per cent of its annual electricity.
The £2.2m investment is part of an ongoing strategy by the company to increase the energy it obtains from renewable sources by 2015, in line with Yearsley Group's commitment to carbon reduction and sustainable sourcing. With the UK's largest national network of cold stores, Yearsley Group has plans to install renewable solutions (either solar or wind power) at other depots around the UK.

Harry Yearsley, managing director of Yearsley Group, said:
"Sustainability is high on our agenda and the reduction of carbon emissions is key in terms of our warehouse operation and in regards to transportation. We have already implemented new management systems for reducing waste road miles and updated many of the cold stores with state-of-the-art insulation, but we knew we could do more and began to investigate renewable."

"Cold storage by its nature requires a large energy input and, with fuel prices increasing on an almost daily basis, any measures we could employ to create our own electricity would be welcome. Solar PV panels were the natural solution for the group as it makes sense to use the large exposed surface area of the warehouses to generate sustainable electricity. Hopefully these will be the first of many renewable projects that will help us to meet our carbon reduction commitments. It also coincides with our implementation of ISO 14001, the environmental management standard and ISO 26000, the international standard guidelines for social responsibility."

The panels have been installed on the southern elevation of each of the two storage units - as this is the most effective for catching the sun's rays – by Bury-based Solar Choice. Ajay Hargreaves, sales director for Solar Choice, added:

"Renewables, in particular solar power, are becoming more popular in response to increasing fuel costs and a rising public concern about energy reduction and carbon emissions. Large companies are taking their responsibilities to sustainability very seriously and seeking to reduce their reliance on the national grid. Yearsley Group has made a major investment and cleverly made use of its existing assets to create green energy to help power its own operations. These are by far the largest roof mounted installations we have ever done, and will be one of the biggest in the UK, producing an enormous amount of electricity in a clean and sustainable way."