ONE of Scotland's largest food and drink brands has generated more than one hundred gigawatt hours of renewable energy through its wind turbines.
The climate positive family business, Mackie's of Scotland, saw the meter on its three original turbines tick back to zero, after it had reached the 100 million kWh mark last month.
Mackie's has been generating power from its wind turbines since 2005, and has produced enough energy to supply 2,500 family homes with electricity for 10 years1, or drive an electric car around the world more than 14,000 times2.
The Aberdeenshire farming business is continually investing in ways to reduce its footprint, from wind turbines to its solar panel array. Mackie's is currently installing a £4.5 million low carbon refrigeration system which will cut the farm's energy use by up to 80%.
Renewable energy consulting engineer and long-time Mackie's collaborator, Colin Anderson, believes this to be a significant milestone.
He said, "This is a tremendous feat for Mackie's and certainly stands as one of the most influential accomplishments in renewable energy production by a private business.
"Mackie's has been a trailblazer in renewable energy production, becoming one of the first companies to install its own wind turbine in the 1980's. It now has the capabilities to harness wind and solar energy, as well as biomass.
"Attitudes have continued to change over the years, and there is an increased acceptance and understanding of the benefits renewable energy generators, such as wind farms, can bring.
"More and more businesses are looking at ways in which they can produce their own renewable energy following the template set by Mackie's.
"Scotland's potential for renewable energy is one of the greatest in Europe, and through developing these technologies our nation's dependence on fossil fuel-based electricity can be reduced."
Mackie's first installed a wind turbine in 1983 generating electricity at the farm for just under a decade. Colin was brought in by Mackie's in 1992 to help repair the turbine which then delivered power for a further six years.
In 2005, the Aberdeenshire farm called upon Colin's expertise once again to install a larger and more modern wind turbine to supply their farm and ice cream dairy, and a further two turbines were erected in 2007 and the final fourth turbine was installed in 2015.
The turbines produce around 50% more energy than Mackie's require to run their business, with the surplus electricity sold into the grid as green energy for the surrounding communities to use.
Mac Mackie, Managing Director at Mackie's of Scotland, said: "We are continuing to invest in new methods which will increase our renewable potential and cut down our carbon footprint.
"Reaching 100 million kWh is a significant landmark for the farm and we are looking forward to hitting the 200 million mark in the years to come."
Mackie's of Scotland has been climate positive since 2007. Its renewable energy is derived from a mix of wind, solar and biomass energy that produce over 8.5 GWh of electricity each year.
The fourth generation family farm's sky to scoop' ethos sees the brand create everything, from dairy products from its own herd to its packaging, as well as other ingredients on site.
Background
Colin Anderson is a consulting engineer specialising in renewable energy and is a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. Colin has recently published the book Wind Turbines - Theory and Practice', an introductory textbook for university and college studies in wind energy, as well as professionals looking to enter the wind energy field. The book draws on Colin's personal experiences and how the sector has evolved over the years.
Colin's book can be purchased from a number online booksellers such as Blackwells, Amazon, and WH Smith, as well as the publisher Cambridge University Press https://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/engineering/energy-technology/wind-turbines-theory-and-practice?format=HB
1 - Average family home uses 3.941 MWh energy per annum - https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/how-much-electricity-does-a-home-use
2 - Based on 3.5 miles per kWh - https://www.edfenergy.com/electric-cars/costs
Sky to Scoop' - Mackie's History in renewable energy.
Mackie's describe how they make ice cream as "Sky to Scoop", reflecting on their use of renewable energy and also how they make everything they can on site - the Sun and Wind provides the energy to power the business and to grow crops to feed the cows who provide the fresh milk and cream to make the ice cream.
Mackie's mission statement includes the desire to be the greenest company in Britain'.
The company is already Climate Positive, producing ice cream with over 70% renewable energy generated by its own wind turbines and solar panels. Mackie's export 4.5 times as much energy to the grid as they use from the grid.
Wind Turbines: Mackie's primary source of renewable energy is the wind, with four wind turbines on the farm hilltop installed from 2005 - 2015. (Three Vestas V52 850kW Turbines, 1 x Enercon E48 500kW Turbine - total capacity 3MW). Scotland is the windiest place in Europe, helping Mackie's to generate 8500MWh of electricity per year.
Solar power: Solar energy complements the wind turbines as the winds are lighter in the summer months when the sun is shining. The company also has a large solar farm with 1.8MW ground mounted installation in a field, and which was Scotland's largest solar farm when commissioned in November 2015. A further 174KW of solar panels are on the roof of the cowshed and chocolate factory - this powers the cowshed and the milking robots, replacing their use of grid energy. Total solar is 1.974 MW capacity.
Biomass: In 2015 Mackie's installed two Froeling 200kW biomass boilers to replace oil fired heating boilers in the office and in staff housing. This burns sustainable and locally sourced wood chip to produce heating and hot water to eight farm cottages and the main office and removes the need to burn
Issued on behalf of Mackie's of Scotland by www.holyroodpr.co.uk.
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