Case Study:
Castell Howell Foods, South Wales

Castell Howell Foods

845.70 kWp system (2,035 panels) installed in South Wales

Rural roots

From a small rural farm beginnings in Carmarthenshire in 1988, Castell Howell Foods has become Wales’ leading independent food service wholesaler, and recently celebrated 35 years of business. Now with over 600 employees, 17,000 product lines and a fleet of more than 200 temperature controlled lorries, Castell Howell provide complete catering solutions for the hospitality industry, schools and hospitals across all of Wales, the Border Counties and the South West of England.

Customers, staff, communities, suppliers, people

As a family run business, supplying and promoting regional produce is one of Castell Howell’s core values. The company invests millions of pounds each year on regional produce, and seeks to continuously develop their products and services through innovation and investment to benefit customers, staff, communities, suppliers and people.

Good eggs

In 2021, Castell Howell Foods initiated their Net Zero Action Plan, partnering with supply chain partners and external contractors to reduce carbon emissions, water usage, and protect biodiversity. Through the adoption of innovative technologies and sustainable practices, the company not only minimized their environmental impact but also set a precedent for eco-friendly operations in the food industry.

Harvesting local energy

After analysing Castell Howell’s energy consumption at Cross Hands Food Park, Mypower
designed a 854.7 kWp rooftop solar PV system. Working with stakeholders including Taylor
Made, the local Distribution Network Operator and Castell Howell’s in house electrician, Mypower managed all permits and compliance. This included the installation of High Voltage power optimisation and G100 reverse power relay to prevent the export of electricity to the distribution network from exceeding the agreed export capacity.

The installation supplements an existing 220kWp installed in 2012, taking the overall generation capacity to over 1MWp, meaning nearly a quarter of the energy consumed by Castell Howell is now provided from locally generated energy instead of from the grid.

Key facts and predictions:

854.70 kWp (2,035 panels) installed.
748,744 kWh units of energy produced per annum.
£156,637 projected first year income and savings.
26.5% projected first year return on capital invested, before capital allowance benefits.
4.92p/kWh - the equivalent forward purchase price of 17 million units of electricity over 25 years including estimated operating & maintenance costs.
3.8 years - system payback before finance, tax and capital allowance and grant benefit.
£6,344,017 - a 25-year income and savings after indexation.
80% saving from solar PV electricity compared to grid supplied electricity at 25p/kWh.
155 tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided per annum.

“At Castell Howell, we recognised that generating our own green, local energy was one of the single biggest actions we could take to extend the positive impact of our business. Equally it’s very important to us to work with companies who share our values and we can trust to act with care and responsibility. We were deeply impressed with Mypower’s diligence and professionalism, which led to a first rate installation without interrupting our ability to focus on business.”

Nigel Williams, Finance Director at Castell Howell

“Like Castell Howell, Mypower grew from small beginnings serving the agricultural industry, and like Castell Howell we’ve grown to where we are today on trust, relationships and delivering what we say we will. To have been recommended to Castell Howell, and to have subsequently earned their trust and business, has been a great validation of our approach, and the CH team have been a pleasure to work with.”

Tom Sivil, Mypower Project Manager