UK label printer makes major solar investment

Watermill Press has installed 750 solar panels covering almost the entire 3,000 sq m roof of its Pitcliffe Way headquarters in West Bowling.

The 111Kw system was fitted by Leeds Solar and will provide 75 percent of the factory’s future electricity demand.

Watermill Press has invested 90,000 GBP (134,500 USD) in the solar system, which it said will be paid back in just over four and a half years, with the panels to save in the region of 20,000 GBP (29,900 USD) a year in electricity bills when coupled with payments from the UK Government’s Feed-in Tariff scheme.

Watermill Press managing director Dale Deacon said: ‘For any business with a large roof, it makes complete commercial and environmental sense.

‘Our production floor has a large number of the world’s most sophisticated label converting machinery that run for 12 hours per day, using a great deal of electricity.

‘This installation protects the business from future price volatility in the energy markets and at the same time will reduce the carbon footprint of the business by over 50 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

‘It forms an integral part of our aim to make the operation of our Bradford factory entirely carbon neutral by the end of 2016.’