Onsite renewables moving Anglian Water toward 2025 target
In September, 2020, Anglian Water completed a 11.6MW capacity solar PV array at its Grafham site. The solar array is expected to generate approximately one quarter of the site’s annual energy requirements - energy it uses to supply clean water to hundreds of thousands of customers. The development aims to help move the company further towards its 2025 target of meeting 44 per cent of its energy requirements from on-site renewable sources. This use of renewable energy is expected to save around 3,500 tonnes of carbon each year, contributing to the company’s ambitious goal of being a net carbon neutral business by 2030.
Completion of this project follows a significant year for renewable energy generation at Anglian Water in 2019. Through a combination of solar PV installations, wind turbines and a fleet of Combined Heat and Power engines fuelled by biogas produced at sludge treatment centres, the water utility generated a total of 131GWh across its estate – a 30 per cent increase on 2018 – and equivalent to the energy required to power 40,000 homes for a year.
Companies across IFM’s infrastructure portfolio globally continue to develop and implement climate change adaptation and/or risk mitigation projects, many of which focus on reducing emissions and harnessing opportunities that improve operational efficiencies.
To learn more about how we are working with infrastructure portfolio companies and investments in other asset classes to transition to a net zero economy, please read our Insights piece Managing the Risks of Climate Change by Chris Newton, Executive Director, Responsible Investment.