Colchester: Supermarket bid for green energy (From Gazette)

Colchester: Supermarket bid for green energy

1:00pm Friday 26th September 2008 in

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A SUPERMARKET giant is looking to set up a new eco-friendly power station at one of its stores.

Tesco has applied to Colchester Council for permission to install a combined heat and power (CHP) unit in a bid to provide a sustainable method of powering its store in Church Road, Tiptree.

A spokesman for Tesco said Tiptree would be one of a handful of stores to get the unit first, with others set to follow next year.

“Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is a key part of Tesco’s renewable energy strategy, part of our programme to reducing our carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2020,” he said.

“CHP units generate electricity on-site, using natural gas or sustainable biofuel to provide power for the store more efficiently than using the national grid.

“By capturing the heat produced by the unit, and using that to heat the store, we can reduce our energy use.

“This saves us up to ten per cent in energy use and carbon emissions compared to a comparable store.

“Tiptree has been selected as one of the first stores in the country to have one of these units, and we will be monitoring how it performs so we can begin installing CHP across the country next year.”

Tiptree Parish Council’s planning committee is set to discuss the plans next week.