The rooftop of the Bentley Motors facility in Crewe is set to have an installation of 20,000 panels, the Crewe Guardian reports.
Once completed, it will be the largest of this type of solar installation in the UK. The panels will cover an area of 3.45 hectares on the Pym's Lane factory roof.
It has been estimated that the array will be able to generate enough energy to power 1,200 households. Furthermore, it will trump the current largest roof-mounted solar array in the UK – at Promens Packaging in Suffolk – as it is three times more powerful.
Bentley Motors will directly benefit from the panels, as they will produce up to 40 per cent of the Crewe site's energy requirements and reduce carbon emissions by 2,500 tonnes per year.
Member of the board for manufacturing at Bentley Michael Straughan said that although the 1940's plant may have been seen as an unlikely spot for modern energy efficiency technology, the south facing factory roof at a 20 degree angle provides the perfect environment to get the optimum benefit from solar panels.
“The panels will reduce our energy costs and help ensure that our manufacturing operations in Crewe are efficient, sustainable and globally competitive,” he added.
Energy efficiency is a hot topic when it comes to business buildings and manufacturing premises, as the government continues to press carbon-reducing policies in order to meet ambitious targets.
Furthermore, as companies to look at ways in which to reduce running costs, cutting energy bills is one major way this can be achieved. Solar panels offer a long-term solution to reducing the amount of power used from the National Grid and provide clean, renewable energy.
Chief executive at Lightsource – the UK's leading solar energy generator – Nick Boyle said: “The installation on Bentley’s factory demonstrates the tremendous potential for solar energy in the UK and is a fantastic example of how businesses can gain greater pricing certainty for the future whilst reducing their carbon footprint."