Butcombe Brewing Co

The Challenge

Butcombe Brewing Co is one of the South West's most celebrated independent breweries, with a reputation built on quality, craft, and a genuine connection to the communities and landscapes of the region. But like every business in the food and drink sector, Butcombe faces a hard commercial reality: energy is one of the largest and most volatile costs in the operation.

Brewing is energy-intensive by nature. Heating, cooling, fermentation, refrigeration, and distribution all place sustained demands on electricity supply throughout the working day. With grid electricity prices remaining high and unpredictable, the financial case for generating on-site renewable energy was compelling, but the operational case was equally important. Any installation needed to work around an active, working distribution centre without compromising throughput or logistics.

Butcombe also operates with a clear sense of environmental responsibility. As a business rooted in the natural character of the South West, reducing its carbon footprint wasn't simply a reporting exercise, but it was an authentic expression of the brewery's values.

Eden Sustainable was appointed to design and deliver a high-capacity solar PV installation on the roof of Butcombe's distribution centre: a system large enough to make a material difference to energy costs, built to last, and delivered without disruption to a site that never really stops.

The Solution

Eden Sustainable designed and installed a 266 kilowatt peak (kWp) solar photovoltaic system on the roof of Butcombe's distribution centre. A substantial commercial installation sized to match the site's daytime energy demand profile and maximise self-consumption across the operation.

Prior to design, the team conducted a full structural and technical survey of the roof, followed by detailed generation modelling to provide Butcombe's leadership with accurate forecasts of annual output, financial savings, and carbon displacement. DNO application, structural assessment, and all regulatory compliance were managed entirely by Eden Sustainable from initial survey through to grid connection and handover.

Installation was carefully phased to protect the operational continuity of the distribution centre, with all works completed safely, on schedule, and in full compliance with UK electrical standards and building regulations.

The Outcome

The 266 kWp solar system is now generating clean, renewable electricity directly from the roof of Butcombe's distribution centre throughout the year. Energy produced by the system offsets grid consumption in real time, directly reducing the volume of electricity the business needs to purchase commercially during peak generation hours.

The installation delivers an average annual saving of £45,000. A figure that compounds in value as grid electricity prices continue their long-term upward trajectory. Over the system's 25-year operational lifespan, the projected cumulative financial benefit exceeds £1.1 million, transforming what might appear to be an infrastructure decision into one of the most commercially astute investments the business has made.

The carbon impact is equally meaningful. The system displaces 54,242 kg of CO₂ from the grid every year, the equivalent to taking approximately 29 petrol-powered cars off the road annually. For a brewery with genuine environmental values and growing sustainability reporting obligations, this is a verifiable, auditable contribution to its carbon reduction goals. Not a pledge, but a measurable outcome delivered year after year.

For a business in the food and drink sector where energy intensity is unavoidable, on-site solar generation fundamentally changes the economics of the operation. Butcombe is now producing a significant proportion of its own electricity, reducing its exposure to wholesale energy market volatility, and doing so in a way that is entirely consistent with the values at the heart of the brand.

The Results

• System capacity: 266 kWp rooftop solar installation at Butcombe's distribution centre

• Annual energy cost saving: £45,000 (average)

• Annual CO₂ saving: 54,242 kg — equivalent to removing approximately 29 cars from the road each year

• Projected lifetime financial benefit: In excess of £1.1 million over 25 years

• Installation: Phased and managed to protect operational continuity of an active distribution centre

• Compliance: Full UK electrical standards, DNO approval, and building regulation compliance throughout

The solar panels helped a lot. It paid back very quickly. In the peak summer, we will generate more energy than we will consume and we’ll export the excess back to the grid.

Head of Brewing, Mike Jordan