Powered by sunshine: London fruit and veg market now home to the city’s largest rooftop solar project
A sprawling London fresh produce market is producing its own power thanks to record-breaking rooftop solar.
One of the UK’s largest fruit, vegetable and flower markets, New Spitalfields stocks London restaurants with green goodness every day.
Now it’s got a green power source of its own: London’s largest rooftop solar installation.
Spread over five roofs, the 2,730-panel project will help slash energy costs and emissions at the sprawling 13-hectare market in Leyton, East London.
With a total capacity of 1.4 megawatt-peak (MWp), the system is expected to generate around 1.27 gigawatt-hours of electricity each year, enough to power approximately 470 homes.
Housing 130 traders selling more than 15,000 products, New Spitalfields Market is managed by the City of London Corporation. It operates overnight and around the clock, making it one of the city’s most energy-intensive markets.
Powering its lighting and refrigerators with electricity generated onsite will reduce the market’s reliance on grid power and its carbon footprint. The solar installation is expected to cut emissions by around 225 tonnes each year, equivalent to the electricity used by around 50 homes annually.
It will also help the City of London achieve its goal of reaching net zero across its own operations by 2027.
Costing £1 million (€1.17m), the solar installation is one of the city’s most significant renewable energy investments to date.
It is hoped it will act as a blueprint for integrating large-scale renewable energy into critical commercial infrastructure across the capital.
“As the UK experiences periods of extreme heat and rising electricity demand for cooling, this project demonstrates the value of investing in local renewable energy generation,” says Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation.
