Barnsley-based Floormaster Yorkshire has gained grant funding to invest in solar panels which will generate more than 70 percent of the energy it needs.
The company has installed 36 panels to the roof of its warehouse at Barugh Green to feed electricity into the company’s 600 sq ft showroom next-door. The company’s investment has been backed by a grant from the Net Zero Barnsley programme delivered by The Business Village in partnership with Barnsley Council.
Floormaster became eligible for a capital grant – which they’ve had to match-fund – to invest in a development to cut carbon emissions, after completing the programme.
The family firm bid for £6,000 to go halves on a £12,000 photo-voltaic system designed to switch the company to renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent and slashing energy bills by half.
OPs Manager Daniel Deacey said: “We own our warehouse and its expansive roof, so when Net Zero Barnsley helped us look at the idea of putting solar panels up there to generate power for our showroom and offices it all made perfect sense.
“Even so, as a small business we probably wouldn’t have been able to afford to pay up-front for the PV system – the grant support was really important in our decision to go ahead.
“We look forward to much lower monthly energy bills soon. And, as we’ve all got to work towards net zero emissions, it feels good to have taken significant action towards that too.”
Floormaster currently uses 16,651kWh of electricity a year which amounts to 3,220kg of CO2 emissions and costs nearly £8,000 in bills.
Floormaster’s 15.3kWp PV system is expected to generate 13,000kWh of renewable energy a year and reduce the company’s carbon emissions by 2,613kg a year. The panels should save them more than £3,500 a year on energy bills and pay for themselves within three and a half years. It is also calculated that over the panels’ 22-year lifetime, they will produce 303,975 kWh of clean energy and reduce the company’s CO2 emissions 58.78 tonnes.
