Shawton Energy partners with Iceland to accelerate rooftop solar rollout across their retail estate

Iceland Foods Limited (Iceland) has partnered with renewable technology provider, Shawton Energy, to roll out rooftop solar systems across multiple sites within its retail portfolio.

The combined energy output of the multiple installations will be up to 10MWp – approximately enough to power 3,000 UK homes – and will save 2,500 tonnes of CO₂ annually.

Iceland has been part of the UK’s grocery industry for over half a century and is one of the country’s fastest growing retailers, with close to 1,000 stores nationwide. In 2014, Iceland expanded its offering and opened its first The Food Warehouse Store – a larger store concept – and today there are 200 of these.

The Iceland store on Penny Lane, Liverpool, is the first of the sites to install on-site renewable energy with Shawton, closely followed by Queensferry Food Warehouse. The 88kW (Penny Lane) and 115kW (Queensferry) systems combined are estimated to save the retailer over 40,000kg of CO₂ annually.

Further stores on Iceland’s solar rollout list include sites in Coventry, Shrewsbury, Doncaster, Leicester, Waterlooville, Ellesmere Port, Dover, and more.

Merseyside-headquartered Shawton Energy is the solar energy partner delivering the scheme and will design, develop, fund, and manage the rooftop solar PV systems across all locations through a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) model.

This means that Iceland will have access to clean, on-site energy generation without the need for any initial capital outlay.

Commenting on the announcement, Jamie Shaw, CEO of Shawton Energy, said: “We’re proud to be partnering with Iceland to deliver large-scale, multi-site rooftop solar projects. Their forward-thinking entrepreneurial approach to the projects has forged a strong relationship between the businesses.

This announcement demonstrates our continued growth within the UK retail sector. Our full turnkey offering and capability to manage complex rollouts with excellent customer service and speed, is a reflection of our recent success, targeting high-demand, national portfolios.”

Graham Ireland, Head of Energy & Mechanical Services at Iceland, added: “Sustainability is a core priority for our business, and this rooftop solar project marks another major step forward in reducing our carbon footprint across the Iceland estate.

In 2021, we became the world’s first retailer to commit to be Net Zero carbon, and by generating clean, renewable energy on site, we’re taking a major step toward meeting our environmental goals.

“This partnership with Shawton Energy is an exciting step in our journey towards achieving net zero by 2040. Generating renewable energy to power our sites will continue to be a priority for us in the coming years, as we continue to identify solutions to optimise sustainability across the business.”

Image courtesy of Shawton Energy.