Purbeck Ice Cream

Case Study:
Purbeck Ice Cream, Dorset

Award-winning Ice Creams kept frozen by the sun

126 kWp system (348 panels) installed in Dorset

Purbeck Ice cream produces award-winning ice cream and sorbet, made on the farm by a dedicated team from the beautiful Isle of Purbeck, Dorset. They manufacture just under 1 million litres of ice cream annually, selling to retailers, caterers, wholesalers and restaurants across the UK.

At the heart of their production is sustainability, with carbon-reducing plans laid out until 2030. They source locally within Purbeck wherever possible using fresh Purbeck milk and Dorset cream, British sugar and skimmed milk powder, and only going further afield if completely necessary. Their ice cream packaging is sourced responsibly, British and fully recyclable, although Purbeck encourage their customers to reuse the ice cream tubs before recycling, with varied uses from storage to crafts or seed pots.

Raising the bar again with a second solar PV system

As part of their ongoing commitment to reduce the carbon footprint, Mypower originally designed and installed a 50kW system on Purbeck Ice Cream's production unit to generate over 50,000 units of clean electricity annually. Following an extensive expansion of the company's production site in 2020 - including new offices and more refrigeration and cold-room capacity - an additional solar PV system was needed to meet its growing business and energy requirements.

A further 126kW was added to the site by Mypower, with the system generating over 135,000kWh per annum to keep Purbeck Ice Cream's award-winning products at just the right temperature! The 382 panels help to avoid a further 80 tonnes of CO2 annually, which has a significant impact on reducing Purbeck Ice Cream's carbon footprint.

Key facts and predictions

126 kW (384 panels) - installed by Mypower.
136,126 kWh - units of energy produced per annum.
£19,058 - projected first year income and savings, assuming 90% of electricity used on site.
23.2% - projected first year return on capital invested, before capital allowance benefits.
3.83 p/kwh - equivalent forward purchase price of 3,134,927 units of electricity over 25 years, including estimated operating & maintenance costs and excluding potential Annual Investment Allowance tax benefit.
81.6 tonnes - CO₂emissions avoided per annum.
4.5 years - system payback before finance, tax and capital allowance benefits.
£1,071,863 - 25 year income and savings after indexation.
74.5% - saving from solar PV electricity compared to grid supplied electricity at 15 p/kWh.

Sweet savings

The Solar PV system is helping Purbeck Ice Cream to reach its sustainability goals, while reducing its electricity bills, too. The new 126kW system will save them over £19,000 in the first year alone and generates clean, renewable electricity at an equivalent price of 3.8p per unit. This represents a saving of 74% compared to grid supplied electricity costing 15p per unit, and it provides a return on investment of 23%.

“We are committed to sustainability and have long-term plans for minimising Purbeck Ice Cream’s carbon footprint, so our two solar PV systems play an important part. We were pleased to appoint Mypower to plan and install both systems, the newest of which is fitted with optimisers on each pair of panels that are monitored by an online platform. This gives us early notification even if only two panels have an issue, which is advantageous.
We are very satisfied with the quality of the solar installations and the service provided by the team at Mypower.”

Peter Hartle, Managing Director - Purbeck Ice Cream