Greencore Homes, and its factory’s landlord, LondonMetric Property, have teamed up with SNRG, a renewable energy systems company, which will design, fund, install and operate a SmartGrid at the Bicester Distribution Park plant.
A SmartGrid is a power system that uses solar PV panels, battery storage and intelligent optimisation, to maximise the use of cheap, onsite renewable energy and minimise the import of expensive and carbon-intensive grid electricity.
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The Greencore Homes SmartGrid will include a 726-panel, 302kWp rooftop solar array, covering 715.3 metres squared of roof space.
SNRG will also fit two battery storage units to reduce Greencore’s electricity bills by an estimated 18 per cent and aims to avoid 39 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2024.
The installation will be completed by the end of the year.
Ian Pritchett, Greencore Co-Founder, Growth and Innovation Director, said: “Producing our own renewable energy is absolutely aligned with our ethos as a company and what we want to be doing.
“We put solar PV on all our houses, which are designed to be net zero energy in-use, so it makes perfect sense that we should try and get as close to that for our office and factory in Bicester as well.
“We were so impressed by the creativity of the SNRG model.”
Henry Leivers, Chief Operating Officer at SNRG, said: “We’re excited to partner with Greencore and LondonMetric, who are aligned with our core mission of accelerating the all-electric, net-zero transition.
“There are hundreds of thousands of UK businesses leasing commercial buildings that are locked out of the financial and environmental benefits of rooftop solar.
“This SNRG project demonstrates that by intelligently designing, funding and orchestrating renewable energy assets onsite, landlords and tenants can benefit from SNRG SmartGrids today.”
LondonMetric owns the Greencore factory building as part of its £3 billion portfolio of logistics and grocery-led long income assets, covering 17 million square feett.
Sam Pringle, Asset Manager, said: “LondonMetric is increasingly engaging with its occupiers to help them deliver on their net zero carbon targets.
“The SmartGrid system offered by SNRG is an innovative solution that is attractive to both landlord and occupier.
“Greencore and SNRG are valued partners, and we look forward to seeing the results of this collaboration and where we might be able to replicate its successes.”
SNRG manages the legal and commercial agreements which guarantee a significant income stream for landlords, while at the same time generating crucial energy savings for business tenants.
This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.
Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.
Get in touch with him by emailing: [email protected]
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