Project overview
Jones Food Company designs, builds, and operates world-scale vertical farms, leading the next generation of UK agriculture by growing high quality fresh produce locally, sustainably, and affordably. Having carried out JFCo’s first solar project at their site in Scunthorpe, they approached Zestec to develop their second renewable project at their site in Lydney. The growing space at this site is 3.6 acres and is the World’s largest vertical farm. With around 46% of all food consumed in Britain being imported, Jones Food’s method hopes to significantly reduce the country’s carbon footprint by growing it on-site in Lydney.
How we helped
In collaboration with our trusted partner, Inspired PLC, Zestec initiated the planning and implementation of JFCo’s system in 2022, operating under our PPA model. Due to JFCo’s consistently high baseline energy consumption throughout the year, the Zestec design team ensured they optimised the system size to its fullest potential, utilising the space available and designing it so that their consumption rate from the solar system delivers the maximum 100%.
Navigating the DNO and planning applications for this project naturally presented its own challenges. However, with the combined expertise of Zestec and Inspired, we successfully overcame these and redesigned sections of the system to ensure compliance with an accepted 200kW export offer. This outcome ensured efficient system design tailored to meet the unique needs of Jones Food.
Jones Food by numbers
Capacity: 710kWp generating 675,000 kWh
Electricity cost reduction: £44,000 a year
CO2e reduction: 152 Tonnes a year
Electricity Cost Reduction: 43% a year
Who we’ve helped
