Butlers Chocolates and Gaelectric announced the largest roof top solar power project in the Republic of Ireland at the Butlers Chocolates headquarters in Clonshaugh, Dublin.
The installation covers approximately 30,660 square feet of the roof area. It will generate electricity using over 1,500 individual photovoltaic (PV) panels.
The installation will meet approximately 14% of the base load electricity requirement of the Butlers Chocolates factory and will save the equivalent of c. 195 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per annum.
According to Aisling Walsh, Butlers Chocolates Marketing Director, “We are delighted to bring sunshine and chocolates together with Ireland’s largest solar power installation on the roof of the Butlers Chocolates factory in Clonshaugh. We are committed to the sustainable production of delicious chocolates. We source ethically from around the world and are continuously working to reduce the impacts of our manufacturing and distribution systems on the environment.”
This is the first of many similar projects that Gaelectric will be developing in the foreseeable future, as it further develops its renewable energy offering for commercial and industrial energy consumers in Ireland and abroad.
Joe O’Carroll Managing Director of Gaelectric Solar Energy, added: “With this solar installation, Butlers Chocolates are taking a leading position in the Irish food industry in showing how increasing sustainability in a manufacturing process makes both commercial and operational sense.”
Construction work on the project is scheduled to commence by spring 2017.
© 2016 - Checkout Magazine by Donna Ahern
