Renewable energy

Charltons 350 KWp solar panel system.

The ‘Solar PV System’ should generate at least 35% percent of the business’s energy each day, with predicted future cost savings in excess of a million pounds as well as a reduction of around 1,400 tonnes of carbon over the next twenty years – the equivalent of powering 1,750 homes for a year.

Charlton aims to become carbon neutral and the investment in the solar panel system helps that journey, with all its energy now coming from renewable sources.

So, how do we know that the electricity we are using is from Green Sources?

Renewable energy suppliers match the amount of electricity their customers use with the amount they buy from renewable sources. So, if a business uses, for example, 20 megawatt-hours (MWh) a year, a supplier will need to ensure it buys an equal amount of power from the National Grid, which the National Grid sources from electricity generators. If that supplier offers 100% renewable power, it will need to ensure it has the right kinds of deals in place with renewable generators to deliver that amount of power.

Biomass heating

Charltons also use Biomass heating within workshops. The Biomass heating systems uses manufacturing offcuts (from sustainably sourced timber)  to generate heat. Although CO₂ is released during the firing of wood, the CO₂ balance of biomass is neutral. This is because the growth of sustainable trees binds CO₂ from the air in the course of its growth.