Simon Howie, the Scottish Butcher, foods is now powered by Scottish weather thanks to a new 2.3MW wind turbine and 2.1MW solar array.
The award-winning household meat brand has taken another step towards net zero with the installation of a 104m high wind turbine and 3800 solar panels on the company’s land in Dunning, Perthshire.
Its new £3 million renewable energy system is live and, weather permitting, set to generate 120% of the businesses energy needs before the demanding Christmas period, reducing its carbon emissions by over 500 tonnes per year.
Simon Howie, owner of Simon Howie Group said the installation was was evidence that the company ‘takes its responsibilities to the planet very seriously’ with an understanding of the climate crisis and the importance of a sustainable future.
First use free.
After years of planning and months of installation, the integrated system has been officially switched on after rounds of testing. Weather permitting, it is forecasted to produce over 120% of the energy the business needs purely from the Scottish weather, reducing its carbon emissions by over 500 tonnes per year.
This makes the company, which is well known for its premium sausages, one of the leading food and drink businesses in Scotland with no reliance on fossil fuels. Mr Howie hopes it ‘can encourage other food and drink manufacturers to consider how they can consider a more responsible future’.
These investments are timely with October to February boasting the busiest months to the company with Christmas and Burns Night demands. This festive period will be no different, set to be the meat bsuiness’s busiest yet with the UK’s bestselling haggis and pigs in blankets, all to be made with a reduced carbon footprint of over two-hundred tonnes for this period alone.
It has also invested in 2 x 450KWh battery storage to maximise return from the energy to allow for changing weather with any excess energy being sold back to the grid.
Mr Howie commented: “After two years of planning it’s wonderful to see our renewable energy system now live.
“Getting the wind turbine and solar panels operational has been a logistical challenge but will reap rewards both for us as a business but also for our customers and consumers as it allows us to do all we can to protect them from energy-related price hikes.”
