BAE Systems plc

11/04/2021 | Press release | Archived content

New solar farm to power world-class jet facility

Since its installation in mid-2015, nearly 9,000 solar panels have been providing power to BAE Systems facility in Samlesbury, Lancashire, producing around 2,300MWh of electricity every year.
The panels have provided around 4% of the sites total consumption, and provides around a fifth of the sites peak electrical demand required to manufacture component parts for the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Lightning II aircraft as well as the wings for the Hawk jet training aircraft.

The use of this solar energy prevented around 500 tonnes of carbon emissions during 2020, and over 4,500 tonnes of carbon emissions since its inception.

The view from above

Stuart Barker, Carbon Net Zero Lead, Air Sector, said:

"Since their installation, the panels at Samlesbury have helped to avoid a significant amount of carbon being released to the global environment every year, thus reducing our impact on climate change"
"By utilising part of the site's former runway for the panels, we've been able to make a positive impact to the environment and at the same time helped to reduce energy costs and contributing to the affordability of our products and services to our customers across the globe.
"A large amount of investment has gone into developing Samlesbury over the last decade or so, and every investment has been considered with the environmental impact in mind - whether that's the design of new buildings, or energy efficient plant and equipment."
In addition to the electricity generated by the solar farm, all the electricity consumed on site is provided from renewable sources.
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