energy and carbon policy
Albion Stone is committed to increasing our energy efficiency and investing in clean, energy efficient technologies, thereby reducing our consumption of energy.
Solar Panels
A £500,000 investment into an innovative new roof for our Factory is set to save thousands of pounds a year on our electricity bills. The 800 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are the largest solar project in which The Crown Estate has invested. The solar panels are expected to generate more than 150,000 kilowatts of electricity per year - the equivalent to the annual consumption of 50 houses - and will reduce our carbon footprint by 80 tonnes per year.
In addition to the electricity savings, the solar panels will also generate a return for the Crown Estate, which pays its entire revenue surplus to HM Treasury. Electricity generated from the installation will be sold to us at a reduced rate, with any surplus fed in to the National Grid.
The installation is particularly innovative - instead of the panels being built on to the existing roof, the installation provider replaced the entire roof with an Energy Roof. The Energy Roof, installed by Solarcentury, will generate electricity for 25 years and requires little maintenance.
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Albion Stone have a loan with the Carbon Trust for £8,000 which is interest free and paid back over 1 year for a speed controller for the ring main water pumps in the factory. While we are using lots of water for cutting, the pumps will work at maximum speed, and as our water demand reduces (eg at night), the pumps slow down, while still maintaining the pressure of the ring main. When all the machines have finished cutting (eg Saturday and Sunday), the pumps will stop and wait until the taps are opened again on Monday morning thus reducing the electricity wasted by the pumps just being left on all the time. |
We are continuously modernising our plant machinery to more environmentally friendly and efficient models.
The Stone carbon footprint compares very well to other building materials. The University of
Bath has completed extensive surveys comparing the carbon footprints of construction materials,
their sustainable Energy Research Team are hoping to secure further funding and with the
assistance of the Stone Federation, to expand on this initial document. The current version
shows that Natural Stone has a 90% smaller carbon footprint than facing bricks and a 75% smaller
carbon footprint than prefabricated concrete. This document can be downloaded from
http://people.bath.ac.uk/cj219
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Albion Stone have signed a commitment to join the 10:10 campaign. We have a number of improvements already agreed with Carbon Trust that have been implemented. |
Click here to view Albion Stone Energy and Carbon Policy