Pub chain Marston’s is to deploy solar energy panels across 120 of its sites over the next year.

It is investing £5.4m in the work which will be carried out by renewable energy firm Two Blues Solar and installer Nuvolt.

Marston’s has a net zero target by 2040 and each installation will generate around 30,000kWh of electricity each year, meeting around a fifth of each pub’s energy demand.

“The rollout will reduce Marston’s carbon emissions by a significant 600 tonnes in the first year, equivalent to removing 430 cars from the road,” said the pub chain.

Its director of investment Andy Kershaw added: “We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment, as we work towards a greener future for our guests, our people and the communities we serve.

“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.”

The deployment is being financed by Atroto Onside Energy through a power purchase agreement, a long term contract whereby Marston’s buys the renewable energy generated rather than owning the solar equipment. This is in place to provide certainty of energy pricing and protecting it from market volatility, it says.

Two Blues Solar co founder Daniel Levene added: “This is the first multi-site Power Purchase Agreement rollout of its kind for a large pub chain in the UK.”

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