And finally… Exceedingly good news
Barnsley’s Mr Kipling factory will now be powered by sunshine, following the installation of a £2.1m solar farm on site.
The Carlton Bakery, which has been turning out Mr Kipling cakes and pies since the 1970s, has created the 2.2-megawatt solar array across 7.2 acres of land beside the Premier Foods site.
Once fully switched on later this month, it will provide around three-quarters of the bakery’s total energy needs – from whisking the Battenbergs to lighting up the offices.
When it opened in the 1970s, the Carlton Bakery was the largest purpose-built bakery in the world and today it remains the biggest bakery in the UK.
Now, it’s rising again, but this time as a beacon for sustainable manufacturing, with the potential for excess power to be fed back into the local grid.
The bakery employs up to 1,000 people at peak production and has been a proud part of the Barnsley community for more than half a century.
Premier Foods, whose portfolio includes household names such as Mr Kipling, Bisto and Ambrosia, has been rolling out solar projects at several of its other sites, including Stoke-on-Trent and Ashford in Kent.
Nick Brown, ESG Director at Premier Foods, said the project is all part of the company’s mission to cut its carbon footprint and keep operations resilient: “By generating more of our energy needs on site, we’re not only reducing our carbon footprint but making our operations even more resilient.”
Steve Morton, Manufacturing Director and Factory General Manager at Carlton Bakery, said: “The whole team is excited to see the solar panels go live. Carlton has been part of the community for over 50 years, and this is the next really exciting step in its story.”
