Soupreme Foods
Capacity: 249.66kWp
Installation date: January 2019
Soupreme Foods, established in 2017 operates out of a brand new, state of the art 50,000 sq. ft allergen free manufacturing facility in North West UK.
Soupreme produce a diverse range of plant based private label food products for the retail and foodservice sectors.
In June 2018, Soupreme made the decision to have a fully funded solar PV system installed at their office in Skelmersdale, North England by Oakapple Renewable Energy (OARE) and Zestec Asset Management (Zestec). Their brief was to install an optimal sized solar PV system based on their on-site electricity consumption which delivered the maximum potential savings against their electricity costs and carbon emission reductions.
As a recently established business, Soupreme and Zestec faced a number of challenges in being able to structure an acceptable third-party investor funded project, including:
- No historical on-site electricity consumption
- Limited trading & financial accounting history
- Complex ownership structure including a pension scheme
Under Zestec’s power purchase agreement (PPA) scheme, Soupreme Foods will:
Reduce their electricity grid tariff by 28% for the solar energy generated and consumed on site
Reduce total annual electricity bill by c.9%
Displace c. 81 Tonnes of CO2e each year
Achieve forecast savings of c.£625k over the 30-year lease term
Soupreme is committed to optimising their environmental footprint, so utilising energy from sustainable sources was a key factor in their decision to install a solar PV system, allowing them to act responsibly and bring value to their stakeholders.
After completion of due diligence, detailed technical survey and multiple system re-designs to accommodate ongoing developmental works within Soupreme building, Zestec’s partner, OARE, was able to install a 249.66kWp solar PV system using QCells solar PV modules and Solis inverters.
Because Soupreme wanted to maximise energy savings with the requirement to invest any of their own capital, they needed to work with a partner who utilised the best technology available, had extensive expertise and offered a long-term, hassle free financing and active management renewable energy solution.
Neil Murgatroyd, of Soupreme Foods, commented;
“We are delighted to have worked with OARE and Zestec. They successfully navigated a challenging legal ownership structure have delivered a high-quality solar PV system without requiring any capital expenditure by us. Best of all, we are forecast to achieve c.£625k of electricity cost savings during the term of the Lease.
It has been a pleasure working with the team and I can endorse their quality customer-focused solar PPA solution.”
100% of the solar energy generated onsite will be consumed by Soupreme Foods expected to be around 231,000kWh per annum.
