PepsiCo’s £3.6m Solar Investment for UK Distribution Site

PepsiCo has announced a multi-million pound investment in a solar power project at its Southern Region Distribution Centre (SRDC) in Leicester, UK.

This will help advance its goal of embedding sustainability into its operations, including the production of its beverage and food portfolio which encompasses Lay’s, Doritos, Pepsi-Cola and Mountain Dew.

Climate Minister Katie White says: “We welcome PepsiCo’s decision to embrace our rooftop solar revolution in powering their Walkers crisps distribution centre in Leicester – adding extra crunch to our clean energy mission.

“It’s a great example of how businesses in Britain can cut emissions, lower bills and strengthen our energy security.”

About the solar project

The project plans to have solar panels installed across 30,000 square metres of roof space at PepsiCo’s facility, which is equivalent to around four football pitches.

These will be installed in partnership with Ineco Energy, which specialises in energy infrastructure.

Once the project has been completed, the solar panels are expected to generate 100% of the energy needed to power the logistics centre over the course of a year.

This will reduce the demand on the national electricity grid.

The solar power system is expected to generate around 2.84 GWh of renewable electricity each year, which is enough to power approximately 1,000 UK homes for a year.

Any leftover electricity will go towards powering the Walkers crisps manufacturing plant which is next door to the distribution centre and is one of the world’s largest crisp factories.

Andy Smethurst, UK Warehousing & Logistics Director at PepsiCo, says: “Leicester is already home to one of the world’s largest crisp factories and now we’re delivering one of the most complex solar power systems, right here in the East Midlands.

“It’s a major milestone for PepsiCo UK and shows how we’re continuing to find new ways to power our sites and operate more sustainably.”

PepsiCo’s sustainable investments

PepsiCo is investing £3.6m (US$4.8m) for the solar panel installation, which follows a £14m (US$18.6m) investment to upgrade its distribution centre in 2021.

The distribution centre is a key part of PepsiCo’s UK supply chain, as it distributes products made at the company’s six factories across the UK.

This was one of the biggest UK logistics investments in PepsiCo’s history, seeing state of the art equipment and technology being introduced across the site.

The new solar project adds onto similar sustainability investments across PepsiCo’s UK sites.

PepsiCo has recently switched to electric ovens at its site in Leicester, installed efficient machinery on its manufacturing line in Coventry and invested in new efficient fryers at its Brigg site.

These initiatives have worked to reduce the company’s greenhouse gas emissions by around 2,400 tonnes per year.

The newest project aims to add to this number, further reducing PepsiCo’s emissions and working towards its environmental targets.

Angus Rose, Director at Ineco Energy, says: “Ineco is incredibly proud to be delivering this flagship solar project for PepsiCo.

“Once operational, it will be one of the largest rooftop systems of its kind in the UK food manufacturing sector, generating the same amount of energy that the SRDC uses in a full year.

“This project has required a collaborative and highly technical approach and we’re delighted to now be moving into the construction phase. We look forward to continuing our strong relationship with the PepsiCo team.”

Construction on the solar power system at the site is underway, with the installation expected to be completed by September 2026.