XYZ commits to renewable energy supply

With energy costs continuing to rise and events around the world creating an uncertain marketplace for power supply, XYZ Machine Tools has taken control by installing further 352 PV solar panels on the roof of its 100,000 sq ft facility in Devon.

Chris Hellier, Operations and Finance Director, comments: “We initially had several solar panels installed in 2023, and started seeing the advantages straight away. With the testing of machines and the uptake of electric vehicles by a growing number of employees, we investigated adding more panels to help further reduce our energy costs and become less reliant on the grid.”

The installation of the additional panels was carried out by Harvest Green Developments, which designed and delivered the rooftop solar system. XYZ has already witnessed occasions when the whole factory has been powered by green energy. The amount of power created, used and fed back to the grid is monitored using a suite of software from Solar Edge, allowing XYZ to see the impact of the new panels.

“We continue to investigate ways to help protect the planet here at XYZ,” states Chris. “Biodiversity is a topic that’s important to us, as we’ve shown with our ISO 14001 environmental management accreditation. We now plan to utilise the roof space of our new 30,000 sq ft extension, due for completion in mid 2026, for more solar panels.”

Although located in Devon, where the gulf stream assists in creating a sunnier climate, the new panels don’t have to rely on sunlight to produce a DC voltage. The charge generated is converted to AC using a set of three invertors for use in the factory. Now operational, the system can produce a maximum AC power output of 109.82 kW. Importantly, it’s predicted to generate an annual saving of 28.09 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of planting 1,290 trees.

Chris concludes: “Here at XYZ, we’re constantly looking to reduce our carbon footprint. We installed a biomass boiler that heats the factory during the winter months many years ago. This, with the addition of these extra solar panels and the recent installation of multiple car charging points at the front of our building, ensures XYZ is embracing its responsibility to the environment.”