Thanet Earth has now completed a 2,740 solar panel rooftop project on its packhouse and office buildings in Birchington.
The installation by Beba Energy for the glasshouse salad grower is one of the largest rooftop solar arrays in Kent. The 1,054.9kW system will generate just under one thousand megawatt hours of clean electricity per year, enough energy to power 750 homes.
The scheme is anticipated to have over 80% use by Thanet Earth with the remaining 20% being exported to the local grid. This significantly reduces the amount of electricity used from National Grid and adds to Thanet Earth’s existing renewable energy schemes. Solar power now contributes to around 32% of their total power use at the pack house.
Thanet Earth generated its first crop of cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers in 2009 and formed a partnership with Fareshare in 2013 to distribute surplus produce.
The business has grown, with six greenhouses on site and plans for a seventh. Its turnover exceeds £107million per year.
There is a workforce needed in excess of 800 people for the business, which produces around 30 million cucumbers, 24 million peppers and 400 million tomatoes per year.
Thanet Earth technical director Rob James said: “This was an important project for us as we work towards delivering our SBti target and onwards to Net Zero.
“Prior to this we had completed two carbon reduction projects, but this was the most complex and it was delivered on target and with minimal impact on our operations.”
The solar panel project was commissioned in late-Spring 2023 and now covers some 5,500m2.
The solar array will produce enough power to run 500 two-bedroom homes, and reduce their carbon emissions by just under 200,000kgs per year, the same as a taking 6.6million car miles off the road.
Shaun Beattie, Director at BeBa Energy, added: “We are delighted to have worked on this major installation for Thanet Earth which will also see an anticipated 189,706kgs carbon reduction each year for the business.
“We have now completed several installations of a similar size or larger for major horticulture and agriculture businesses in the county and the sector is working hard to use more solar energy as part of its move towards net zero.
“There is capacity for more roof space to be used for the generation of solar power in the agricultural sector and the wider business community, not just in Kent but across the UK.
“A report issued in August 2022 by The UK Warehouse Association said the UK had at that time roof space for 15GW of new solar power which would nearly double the UK’s solar PV capacity. This would meet National Grid’s minimum requirements for solar expansion by 2030.
“To date the UK has deployed around 17GW of solar with a further 3GW forecast to be added this year.”
