Real estate investment trust Tritax Big Box has installed 999.75kWp of rooftop solar PV at a logistics warehouse at the Ash Industrial Estate, Flex Meadow in Harlow. The building, which totals 276,213 sq ft, is operated by Brakes as a depot and logistics centre for its wholesale food network.
The project is expected to generate over 930,000kWh of electricity annually, according to Knight Frank, whose Energy, Sustainability and Natural Resources team provided advice on the project. The company said the solar energy will reduce the building’s grid dependency, offsetting the total annual electricity use at a significantly cheaper rate than grid supplied power, given the continued rapid inflation in power prices.
Alan Somerville, Director of ESG at Tritax Group, said: “This is another successful renewable energy project which is part of our overall ESG programme. Working in partnership with our customers to deliver low carbon and low-cost energy is an important part of our strategy as we continue to deliver prime sustainable logistics buildings.”
In 2020 Tritax issued a £250 million green bond, said to be the first by a UK REIT, to fund “new developments that are expected to be built as best-in-class, sustainable, net zero carbon buildings and to be BREEAM certified as either ‘Very Good’ or ‘Excellent’.”