Portland limestone company Albion Stone are cutting the embedded carbon content of their stone by using electricity generated from a £500,000 solar panel roof on their factory on the Dorset island.
They anticipate the investment will save them thousands of pounds on their electricity bill each year by not having to buy higher carbon content electricity from the National Grid.
Albion have already improved the environmental friendliness of their operation by starting to mine (rather than quarry) their stone, which reduces waste and leaves the ground above untouched by the stone extraction work.
Now they have made their roof available for the installation of 800 photovoltaic (PV) panels in the first solar project by the Crown Estate, who own the land Albion extract the stone from.
The panels are expected to generate more than 150,000kW of electricity a year – equivalent to the annual consumption of electricity by 50 houses. Albion say that will reduce their annual carbon footprint by 80tonnes.
As well as the electricity, the solar panels will generate a return for the Crown Estate, which pays its entire revenue surplus to HM Treasury.
Electricity generated from the installation will be sold to Albion at a reduced rate, with any surplus fed into the National Grid.
The installation is particularly innovative because instead of the panels being built on to the existing roof, the installation provider replaced the entire roof with an Energy Roof. The Energy Roof, installed by Solarcentury, should generate electricity for 25 years with minimum maintenance.
Alan Laidlaw, head of new business development for the Crown Estate’s rural estate, said: “Our investment at Portland represents a significant first step into solar energy for us. We welcome a joint investment approach to renewable energy, which works both for us and our tenants by protecting their businesses from volatile energy markets and at the same time cutting carbon emissions from our estate.”
Michael Poultney, Managing Director of Albion, said: “This further reinforces the continuing reduction in the carbon footprint of our Portland Stone.”