SUCCESS STORY

Cutting energy costs with solar: Earlswood Garden Centre

Earlswood Garden & Landscape Centre is a large, independent garden centre based near Solihull. They needed to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions across the site.

Impact at a glance

• Installed a large-scale solar PV system including 180 panels
• Expected savings of nearly £900,000 in electricity cost over 25 years
• Expected payback period of only 2.7 years

The business

Earlswood Garden & Landscape Centre is a large, independent garden centre based near Solihull, operating from a 7.5-acre site with retail, manufacturing and café facilities. It was established in 1995 by brothers Dave and Steve White, and the site has grown considerably, now with a restaurant, purpose-built buildings for concessions, an improved plant centre and a modern workshop.

Sector: Horticulture

Region: West Midlands

Size: 1-49 employees

Why they took action

Over the years Earlswood has sought to operate sustainably with ground and air source heat pumps installed along with LED lighting and 4 EVs in its fleet. Nonetheless, as a 7-day a week operation the garden centre consumed about 185 MWh of electricity annually. It got in touch with consultancy SaveMoneyCutCarbon to see how it could both further lower emissions and electricity costs.

What they did

SaveMoneyCutCarbon (SMCC) advised that offsetting grid energy with solar power production would deliver the maximum economic benefit, as any revenue provided from exported generation would be a maximum 5.5p per kWh, substantially less than the utility tariff. SMCC then worked with the business to install 180 solar panels across the site.

What difference it made

• £36,000 a year reduction in electricity costs
• Payback in 2.7 years
• Carbon emissions saving of 15 tonnes/year

How were the changes funded

The investments were funded from the firms’ own resources.

Lessons for other businesses

Earlswood Garden Centre demonstrates how a large solar panel investment, when planned effectively, can not only have long-term benefits by also a relatively short payback time.

Find out more about Earlswood Garden Centre