Walkers is the UK’s favourite crisps, made from 100% British potatoes, and known for its famous flavours. Walkers is part of the PepsiCo group which is home to market-leading brands and household favourites including Quaker, Pepsi Max and Tropicana.
The almost 5,000 strong team behind these products is spread across 11 UK sites, including the Quaker Oats mill in Cupar, Scotland and its Walkers crisp factory in Leicester – the largest crisp factory in the world.
PepsiCo believes that protecting the environment, sourcing with integrity and investing in its employees is not just the right thing to do, but will also position the company for long-term, sustainable growth.
Walkers decided that it was important to try and reduce its energy consumption, and wanted to be fossil fuel free by 2023. In order to achieve this it felt that renewable energy, specifically wind, was the best solution. The plan was to install a wind turbine on its manufacturing plant in Skelmersdale, West Lancashire. This project was an important step in helping Walkers to achieve its goal.
After carrying out all the necessary surveys and public consultations, the planning application was submitted in October 2011 and subsequently granted on appeal in March 2013.
npower Business Solutions (nBS) was the chosen supplier and responsible for the design, supply, installation and construction of the wind turbine. Once all the papers were signed, work on this project started in December 2014. A preaccreditation application was submitted to Ofgem on 16 December 2014 to lock-in the prevailing tariff for a 12 month period. This meant that the turbine had to be installed and operational by 15 December 2015.
The project was completed by nBS’s Technical Services Team and was delivered on time, under budget and with a 100% health and safety record. Not only that, but Walkers continued to meet all its production schedules. The installation of the wind turbine will help Walkers significantly toward its goal of being a fossil fuel free business.
nBS will continue to operate the turbine and supply green energy to Walkers for the next 20 years, generating, on average, 4,520MWh per year and a CO2 saving of approximately 2,000 tonnes per year.