Wind Turbine to Power Greenvale Potato Packaging Plant
Greenvale, the UK’s leading supplier of fresh potatoes, and renewable energy company, Triodos Renewables, have announced the completion of a deal to build a wind turbine. The project developed by UK on-site generation specialist, Wind Direct, will be built on Greenvale’s Floods Ferry site in Cambridgeshire and will have an estimated total capacity 1.5 MW. This is expected to meet the average annual electricity needs of 1000 homes, or 13% of the residents of nearby town March in Cambridgeshire.
Building work on the 110 metre turbine, will commence at the end of April with completion due by the end of 2014. Once commissioned, the turbine will be capable of generating up to 60% of the electricity needed to power Greenvale’s potato packing facility and reduce the company’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Trevor Dear, operations director of Greenvale, comments: “The wind turbine will secure a reliable energy supply for our packing site, generate jobs within the region, and reduce our impact on the environment. This is a key part of our environmental policy which aims to reduce our CO2 output by 20 per cent by 2015.”
Over the last five years, Wind Direct has worked in partnership with Greenvale to develop a planning application and successfully gain consent for the project with Fenland District Council. Wind Direct then negotiated a turbine supply contract with leading Spanish turbine manufacturer, Acciona as well as sourced and structured the project finance facilities for the project.
The funding package is provided by a combination of Triodos Renewables equity and Santander UK debt finance. The term of the debt is seven years post completion of construction. The wind turbines will be supplied by Acciona Wind Power along with a long term service package, the balance of plant contract has been placed with RG Carter.Electricity will be sold to Greenvale and the export to SmartestEnergy via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). ”
The wind turbine is the 13th project in Triodos Renewables’ investment portfolio, which also includes Ness Point and Eye in Suffolk and Boardinghouse also near March in Cambridgeshire. Triodos Renewables has more than 19 years of ‘hands-on’ experience in theUKrenewable energy sector, building, owning and operating onshore wind farms and hydro-electric projects in a distinct niche in the market between community and utility scale.
Greenvale is a fully integrated potato business, from breeding and growing potatoes through to packaging, distribution and marketing for the retail, wholesale and food service sectors, with a specialist food ingredients division, Swancote Foods. Founded over 40 years ago, AIM-listed company handles 500,000 tonnes of potatoes every year.
In 2012, the company launched its first branded potatoes Greenvale All Rounders with Greenvale Jacket Potatoes added to the range in January 2014..
