Member Article

Solar energy to power industrial chemical supplier

A Cross Hills chemical company has invested £200,000 into the installation of solar panels as part of its continued commitment to reducing the business’ carbon footprint.

Airedale Chemical, the industrial chemical specialist, has fitted 263.73kw of panels across the North Yorkshire site on its south-facing warehouses and office buildings in a project that will see the company pulling zero electricity from the power grid.

Craig Thomson, finance director at Airedale Chemical, explains: “We expect to save around £25,000 a year on energy bills with an overall saving of £800,000 forecast for the next 25 years. While the project has been a great way for us to cut down our overheads, it also forms part of our strategy to minimise our carbon footprint and the impact on our environment.

“The installation of solar panels is something we have had planned for some time but needed to carry out additional building work to ensure there was enough support to hold the panels.”

“The majority of energy generated by the solar panels will be used in our production facility where we operate mixing and reacting vessels continuously during our working week.”

The project has taken around 18 months from inception to completion including delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Airedale Chemical’s operations director, Daniel Fox, adds: “Our environmental impact is constantly under review and this project is just one part of our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint and we will be rolling out further measures over the coming months and years.”

The works were carried out by Custom Solar, which has worked on installations for commercial, public sector and infrastructure clients including Porsche, Cambridge University Press and ABP Port of Goole.

Airedale Chemical is a third-generation family business which has been based in Cross Hills since 1994, providing chemicals and contract manufacturing to markets including manufacturing, dairy, recycling and waste management.

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