Tackling the Energy Crisis - Our Solar Switch
July 2022
Taking advantage of Solar Energy by making beer with the Sun
We’re an environmentally focused bunch at Nethergate and, particularly since 2018, we’ve been really focused on minimising our company's carbon footprint through smart, thoughtful, and well-considered projects.
Some of our projects over the last few years, we are immensely proud of. We’ve dug our own borehole beneath our brewery to create our own local water source, we’re continually trying to reduce our production waste, we’ve introduced new recyclable pump clips, we’ve replaced our diesel forklifts with shiny, new, electric ones and we’ve installed PIR lighting throughout our site just to name a few. However, the change that has been most impactful to date, must be our recent installation of solar panels.
Once we had witnessed and enjoyed success with our early environmentally friendly initiatives, embracing solar energy became the natural, intuitive next step for us in our pursuit of reducing our environmental impact. Luckily, having a 10m x 20m warehouse roof, we had the perfect canvas to play with.
Just as we started exploring quotes at the end of 2021, the New Anglia Growth Hub came to our aid with Net Zero grant support to help get our plan off the ground. A hugely helpful government initiative that supports local, private businesses around Norfolk and Suffolk with projects that deliver carbon-saving reductions. We were committed to going solar, but these initiatives made switching more accessible and more affordable than ever before.
4 months later and thanks to Eco East Anglia (now Green Building Renewables), we now have a solar array of 108 Eurener panels capable of generating 36kW an hour glistening on our warehouse roof. To put this into perspective, the average household uses roughly 9kW per day.
This means that, since our installation, we’re now saving over £1,000 in our energy bills every month. Not just has this initiative been a brilliant project that has helped us reduce environmental impact, but it also generates huge commercial benefits too. Winner, winner!
Our journey hasn’t stopped there, however. Going solar was just the next rung on our ladder. So, what’s next?
The truth is, we’re not certain. We’re full of ideas so I’m sure it won’t be long until we’re celebrating our next project. We’re looking at installing electric vehicle charging units in our car park, we’re planning to turn our vehicle fleet electric, we’re eliminating single use plastics in our packaging, we’re moving away from plastic labelling to paper, we’re dramatically reducing our water usage… the list goes on. And that’s because, in all truth, we can be so much better, and we can do so much more. We’d love to hear your ideas about what more we can do so, if you want to share any, please get in touch!
Read More
Learn more about our solar project in Sarah Chambers' article in the East Anglian Daily Times
New Ruddy Duck Rhubarb & Ginger
Check out our latest flavour to compliment our range of premium pink gins; the delicately spicy and fresh Rhubarb & Ginger. Available in 35cl and 70cl bottles.
