Food firm building solar car ports to cut carbon

A frozen food firm is building 39 solar car ports to help charge its fleet of electric refrigerated delivery vans in a bid to cut its carbon emissions.

Apetito, based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, was granted retrospective planning permission to build the three-metre (10ft) canopies mounted with solar panels on land freed up when an unused building was demolished.

The company, which supplies meals to care homes, schools, and hospitals, has already installed solar panels on many of the roofs of its manufacturing plant.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, once the carports are complete, it will provide 15% of the electricity used across the entire site.

Lee Sheppard, director of corporate affairs, policy and sustainability for Apetito and Wiltshire Farm Foods, said: "We're immensely proud of the fact that we have successfully made this important net zero initiative happen, and also of the speed at which we are mobilising the new fleet, which leads the industry in the delivery of frozen food products."

Last week the government called on businesses – including supermarkets and retail parks – to invest in solar canopies as a way of generating clean electricity.

Launching the government's Plan for Change, energy secretary Ed Miliband said: "Right now, the sun is shining on hundreds of thousands of car parking spaces across the country which could be used to power our homes and businesses.

"We want to work with businesses and car park operators to turn our car parks into solar carports to save families and businesses money with clean, homegrown British energy."

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