Britvic has signed a power purchase agreement to cover 75% of the power used in manufacturing its soft drinks in Great Britain from a 160-acre solar farm in Northamptonshire.
The ten-year solar power agreement will provide electricity to factories in Rugby, London and Leeds. Britvic says it aims to reach 100% solar powered operations in the near future.
The solar site was commissioned in January and according to renewables provider Atrato Onsite Energy, it will scale up to produce 28GWh annually. The project makes use of a former quarry site that is unsuitable for farming, with double-sided solar panels that use tracking devices to follow the sun.
Sir Stephen Timms, Labour MP for East Ham – the home of Britvic’s Beckton site in East London, said: “Britvic has been a significant employer in Beckton for over fifty years. Together with last year’s investment in a state-of-the-art heat recovery system, I’m delighted this agreement will help the site and the business deliver on its important net-zero ambition.”