Carbon Neutral Cambridge helps Chatteris salad packaging firm go solar, saving £30,000 a year
A salad packaging business has saved £30,000 per year and created 15 new jobs – thanks to the support of a Cambridge community group which helped it pull off a huge energy-saving project.
Carbon Neutral Cambridge group stepped in after hearing that Eco-Pak, which is based in Chatteris and specialises in packing tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, wanted to put solar panels on its roof but could not afford the £500,000 price tag.
Carbon Neutral Cambridge introduced the business to the Big Solar Co-op, a national not-for-profit organisation that finds investors for energy projects.
It funded 1,500 panels – the biggest number ever installed in one of the co-op’s schemes.
Eco-Pak has also installed low-energy LED lighting, changed its heating from oil and gas to electric and introduced other energy-saving measures to help slash bills.
Operations director Richard Hall said the project is helping to transform its business.
Since last June, when the installation was completed, the solar panels alone have saved £8,000 and, combined with other measures, the project is expected to save £30,000 per year.
“The cost reduction has allowed us to stay competitive, which in turn has allowed us to gain more business and has allowed us to maintain and increase the amount of jobs we can offer,” says Richard.
“We are much more optimistic than we were before.”
The Big Solar Co-op says it is interested in working with any business or community group that spends more than £1,000 per month on electricity and which has a roof at least 250 square metres – the size of a tennis court.
Noel Lambert, the Big Solar Co-op community & content lead who coordinated the early stages of the project, says: “If you run your own commercial or community building, we’re always happy to talk. We own the panels and we can install, manage and operate them at no cost to the host organisation – it’s free.
“And of course, having solar is better for the planet too.”
