The installation consists of 1,276 panels that the company said would save 542 tonnes of carbon over 25 years.
Arranged in partnership with Bristol Energy Cooperative (BEC), the installation is three times bigger than originally planned and has formed part of the company’s vision for a green energy future which serves people and the planet.
The solar panels power Latcham’s office, IT, digital print, manufacturing, and warehousing facilities. At 568kWp (kilowatt-peak), enough to charge a mobile phone 44.7 million times over the year, most of this will be used on site with any excess being sold to the electricity grid.
The solar installation went live in May across one of the company's 4,600sqm units. It has around 8,000sqm space in total.
BEC funded the installation and will own and manage the asset over its lifetime, meaning there was no upfront cost to Latcham.
As well as the carbon savings, the solar panels will see Latcham benefit from a guaranteed reduced rate, irrespective of price fluctuation in the open market.
BEC said its mission is to build a power station on the rooftops of Bristol, where Latcham is based.
As well as cutting bills and saving carbon emissions for host sites, its revenues support a range of local community projects through grants, including community gardens aimed at cutting waste and food miles, and training bike mechanics to encourage the use of sustainable transport.
Over the course of its lifetime, the Latcham installation is estimated to generate more than £50,000 for community benefit grants.
“Latcham was keen to find a partner who could take full advantage of the large factory roof to go far beyond its own requirements,” said Latcham managing director Mike Hughes.
He added the company had been working relentlessly over many years to reduce its environmental impact, including replacing plastic membership cards with cardboard and bamboo cards, switching all of its lighting to LED, upgrading its heating systems, moving to water/plant based digital inkjet printing, upgrading its IT to reduce energy consumption, upgrading its vehicles to electric, and installing 10 car charging points on site.
“I take the environmental side personally. I have children in their twenties and they care deeply about this and so do I.”
Helen Martin, CEO of Bristol Energy Cooperative, also commented: “We’re really excited that Latcham has joined our community energy family. Community energy is such a great way to go green and support important community projects. It’s real people power in action.”
The project is part of BEC’s South West Local Solar Scheme. BEC is now working on Phase 2 and is actively looking for new rooftops. The scheme is supported by funding from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority’s Green Recovery Fund.
Latcham recently appointed Mark Skirton as the new sales director for the £22m-turnover company, which employs just under 100 people and runs Canon and Ricoh inkjet machines.
