148 solar panels costing a total of around £50,000 are now catching the last rays of summer sun on the roof at Arkell’s Brewery, Swindon.
The Wiltshire brewery has just completed installation of the solar panels to cut energy consumption and reduce costs.
“We have three massive cooling systems to keep our beer and lager cold, all using significant amounts of energy,” said Head Brewer Alex Arkell. “In fact powering our cooling systems is the biggest energy cost for the brewery.
““Our Beer is an all-natural product and looking after the environment that gives us the ingredients is critical. Over the last few years we have been working to reduce our carbon footprint, first through buying ingredients more locally where we can and now harnessing the sunshine to reduce our energy costs.”
The brewery’s energy consumption has risen this year as sales of its 1843 lager have taken off. 1843 lager requires a month of cooling whereas Arkell’s real ale needs just five days of cooling before it’s ready to drink.
The Capacity of the new system is 37 KWpk, which is estimated to be able to produce 35,261 kWh of electricity per year, depending on the sunshine, all of which will be used in the brewery. Even on a late summer afternoon, the panels generate 18 kWh.
“Apart from it being extremely rewarding to be using a green energy source, we estimate that we should receive payback on the solar panels within five or six years,” added Alex.
Nicky Godding
nicky@nickygodding.co.uk
Tel +44 (0)1285 653006
Mob +44 (0)7966 510401