McCain invests £10M in renewable energy

Potato processor McCain claims to be the first major food manufacturer to use wind turbines to generate a significant amount of electricity.

The firm has embarked on a £10M project, which involves installing three 80m tall turbines and an anaerobic lagoon at its Peterborough plant.

"On average, the wind turbines generate 60% of the factory's electricity requirements, while the lagoon will generate a further 10%," said corporate affairs director Bill Bartlett. "If the wind is very strong and the factory is closed for any reason, then we will feed the excess energy to the national grid. We're not doing this because of the environmental benefits, we're doing it for commercial payback - it's a win-win situation."

Already operational, the anaerobic lagoon is the size of 12 football pitches and ferments non-solid matter, such as potato starch, to provide energy. Meanwhile, the turbines will be active by the end of November.

"In the future, if we are looking at a new site, renewable energy will be a major consideration," said Bartlett. The company also has solar panels on the roof of its articulated vehicles to generate energy for refrigeration units.

Renewable energy is an integral part of the government's longer-term aim of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050. The government has set a target of 10% of electricity supply from renewable energy by 2010.