Sainsbury’s Scottish Stores in Wind Power Revolution

Sainsbury's is set to generate enough wind energy to power all of its Scottish stores and depots using Scottish renewable energy by next year.

Sainsbury's already generates enough renewable electricity to power well over half of its Scottish stores, having purchased all of the electricity from two installations (Muirhall and Lochhead), situated just outside Glasgow. It is now on the brink of securing another site that will ensure it generates enough to power all 47 of its stores, as well as its depots in Scotland.

By agreeing to buy all of the energy from a wind energy site before it is built, Sainsbury's provides renewable energy companies with the guaranteed income they require in order to secure start-up funding. As such, Sainsbury's is a leader in the renewable energy industry.

Mike Coupe, Sainsbury's group commercial director, comments: "We have a long history of investing in renewables, particularly in Scotland. Now, our investment is such that we will soon be able to say that we generate enough to offset all of the power used by our Scottish operations. This is a great achievement, and one that will have a significant impact on our carbon footprint. In fact, this deal could well make us the greenest grocer in Scotland."

Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead welcomed the announcement. He said:

"It's great to see a company like Sainsbury's making a public commitment to Scotland's renewables revolution. The Scottish Government aims to generate 100 per cent of Scotland's own electricity demand from a mix of renewable sources by 2020. By then we intend to be generating twice as much electricity as Scotland needs - just over half of it from renewables, and just under half from other conventional sources."

Sainsbury's has pioneered an innovative type of energy deal which has made this announcement possible. Known as a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), the energy is purchased in advance at an agreed cost providing guaranteed income for the renewable energy company, and protection from the volatility of the energy market for Sainsbury's.

Mike added: "We believe this deal represents a great example of how being green can make good business sense and we are currently looking for other power generators with whom we could make similar arrangements."

The Lochhead windfarm was commissioned two years ago, while the Muirhall wind farm was commissioned this April. Sainsbury's is planning to announce the addition of a third windfarm next year.

Alex Hensher, founder of A7, the company that owns the Lochhead wind farm, said: "Power Purchase Agreements are an innovative way that independent generators can get renewable energy projects off the ground, whether they are biomass, waste-to-energy or in this case, wind turbines.

"With a shortage of generation capacity looming in the UK, the ability to reduce exposure to price risk by contracting directly with developers is becoming an increasingly attractive option for large energy consumers like Sainsbury's."

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