Thomas Leach, founded in 1901, commenced installation of 117 panels in mid December, with the panels due to cover 280sqm of rooftop at the firm’s site.
Under the agreement, Electron Green – which installs the panels itself – covers all costs related to installation and maintenance of the panels.
Electron Green is then paid by Thomas Leach for as much electricity as the panels generate, at a lower cost than it would pay for National Grid power.
The rate is fixed, leading to Thomas Leach’s savings increasing over time. At the end of 25 years, Electron Green will hand over the solar panel system to Thomas Leach free of charge.
Neil Stratford, managing director at Thomas Leach, said: “The print and media sector is energy intensive, especially in preparation for Christmas.
“That means high carbon emissions and – in the current environment – high energy costs. Solar is an easy retrofit and the impact is immediate.
“Putting 280sqm of solar panels on our factory roof will go a very long way to reducing our carbon emissions and the fixed electricity price gives us valuable long-term financial certainty.”
Electron Green has some £1bn of funding available for similar solar leasing arrangements.
According to 2023 research by the UCL Energy Institute for countryside charity CPRE, retrofitting solar to non-domestic rooftops in England alone could meet over half of the UK’s target of 70GW of solar power by 2035.
Daniel Green, CEO and co-founder of Electron Green, said: “Britain’s great regional businesses tell us time and again they want more certainty over future energy bills.
“They also want off-the-shelf solar packages that help reduce emissions. Thomas Leach Colour is a prime example of a vibrant company requiring more certainty in an unpredictable world.
“We aim to give UK businesses more flexibility about how they manage and pay for electricity.
“Everyone is going to be using more electricity – half as much again over the next decade according to recent analysis – and businesses need the confidence there is the capacity to match greater demand, and flexibility about how they can pay for it.
“We’re here, with our £1bn fund, to solve this problem.”
