Sunrise Eggs, Loughborough, Leicestershire

One of the UK’s leading suppliers of Colony and Free Range eggs, Sunrise Eggs, based near Loughborough, Leicestershire, are now generating a significant portion of their annual required electricity - thanks to a major investment in solar powered technology.

The company, who are a prominent supplier to supermarkets, retailers and wholesalers in the UK, recently contracted Salop Energy Commercial Ltd, and we designed and installed the 200kW peak output PV system for Sunrise’s main egg packing and distribution depot. 

Comprising of 800 solar panels, the system is located on a South Easterly facing elevation. It is projected to generate 160,000 units of electricity per annum, delivering annual savings of around £32,000. As the Feed-in Tariff is index linked this income will increase year on year and savings made on grid-bought power will soar as wholesale electricity prices rise.

Salop Energy Commercial Director Gareth Jehu commented “We were absolutely delighted to undertake this project for Sunrise Eggs”. 

Salop Energy Commercial came up against stiff competition during the tendering process of the contract, contending with a well-known German company who operate internationally. 

Eventually Salop Energy Commercial’s attention to detail during the system planning and design phase was the deciding factor in winning the contract. The client was also impressed by our ability to offer a personal aftercare package encompassing both maintenance and monitoring of the PV system.

“Although the design was initially straightforward, our client had concerns regarding temperature within the building on which the solar modules were to be mounted”, explained Jehu. 

“We ensured that we accounted for this in our design, specifying a bespoke mounting system to alleviate any potential effect the modules may have had”. 

Jehu also added “Monitoring is an imperative ingredient for any PV system, but on an investment of this magnitude, clients quite rightly expect their system to be policed 24/7, 365 days of the year”.

“Our company prides itself on the level of back up service and aftercare provided and it appears that this was exactly what Sunrise Eggs were also looking for”.

A major part of the system design process was the selection of which PV module to use. With thousands of different panels available selecting a manufacturer that could be relied upon to uphold their warranty in the event of a failure was a key issue. 

With the help of Salop Energy Commercial ’s PV distributor, Phill Crawley, a Director of Sunrise Eggs, eventually selected the new 250 watt polycrystalline module from Yingli - a worldwide brand with a strong company infrastructure to support its claims. 

Phill Crawley, the instigator of the Sunrise solar scheme, commented, “The decision to invest the kind of capital we have in this scheme brings with it a multitude of concerns and potential stress. I am pleased to say that we experienced none of this working with Salop Energy Commercial”.

“It was vital that the project was undertaken in a manner that ensured there was no disruption to the day to day running of our operation”.

“What we have ended up with is a high quality installation, delivered on time, on budget and with minimum fuss. I could not recommend Salop Energy Commercial Ltd highly enough”. 

Phill Crawley added, “In today’s challenging world businesses such as ours are expected to lead the way and set an example, especially from an environmental point of view”.  

“We were a large consumer of wholesale electricity, and with rising utility prices appearing to be the order of the day, we believe by taking this step we have gone a substantial way to securing our company’s energy future”.