Marston’s is rolling out solar energy across 120 of the group’s community-based pubs thanks to a new approach to financing such projects.
The power purchase agreement (PPA) means Marston’s purchases 100% of the renewable energy generated on its roofs rather than owning the solar equipment.
Each installation is expected to generate approximately 30,000kWh of electricity annually, meeting somewhere between 15% and 20% of each pub’s energy demand. The rollout will reduce Marston’s carbon emissions by 600 tonnes in the first year.
Marston’s latest sustainability report, in 2024, shows scope 1 and 2 emissions (including scope 3 business mileage) increased 3% to 75,014tCO2e across the group’s 1,300 pubs. Scope 3 emissions totalled 341,297tCO2e.
Pubs have been particularly susceptible to energy price rises in recent years, and the move to generate their own energy is seen as one way of reducing their exposure to such risks.
This arrangement “guarantees certainty of energy prices for 25 years, protecting Marston’s from market volatility whilst delivering immediate cost savings for the group”, reads a press statement.
The £5.4m investment is fully financed by Atrato Onsite Energy, which will retain ownership of the panels and oversee any monitoring of their performance.
Renewable energy solutions provider Two Blues Solar said this is the first multi-site PPA rollout of its kind for a large pub chain in the UK.
Director of investment at Marston’s, Andy Kershaw, said: “Through this partnership, we can now significantly accelerate the rollout of solar across our community-based pub estate without diverting capital from our core operations, helping our pubs make the transition to renewable energy while reducing our total emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.”
