Local freshly caught fish in Newhaven chilled by the sun

Fish and Flake Ice Society has been offering essential chilled storage space and fuel to Newhaven’s local fishermen since the 1960’s. Recently the society moved into a new building to better accommodate the fifteen to twenty fishing vessels that use the harbour today.

Refrigeration and associated appliances use large quantities of energy, and so Fish and Flake took the opportunity to explore cost saving solutions to control escalating electricity bills. With rising pressure on the fishing industy to be more sustainable, the cooperative decided to install a 50kW solar PV array to power the Newhaven premises with clean energy.

The solar system was installed via the Clear Futures partnership and local renewable energy company, OHM Energy. Clear Futures was founded by Eastbourne and Lewes Councils to deliver transformational renewable energy and regeneration projects, All UK public bodies in the UK can join Clear Futures without charge to access the full range of services. In effect, the Clear Futures framework is a long-term procurement partnership for the public sector to drive sustainable change. The framework accesses investment and secures funding, offering sustainable solutions to reach net zero targets via partnerships with vetted and approved local experts.

Fish and Flake used the Clear Futures framework to procure local firm OHM Energy to design and install a solar array of photovoltaic panels. The new system is forecasted to save 336 tonnes of carbon dioxide over 20 years. This carbon saving is the equivalent to planting around 15,000 trees and will accelerate progress as the local business community works together to reach net zero by 2030.

Jason Lindfield, Director at OHM Energy says “We are privileged to be working with the Clear Future framework as the public sector embraces solar to drive sustainable change. The new solar system at Fish and Flake will transform operations, helping the local fishing industry financially as well as environmentally. At current energy prices, the entire system should pay for itself within 5 years and 6 months and save £231,500 over the next 20 years. When you look at these kind of numbers, solar makes a very attractive and sustainable investment for any industry involving refrigeration and high energy costs.”