A luxury ice cream brand will install one of the most sophisticated green refrigeration systems in a £4 million project to drastically reduce their carbon footprint.
Mackie’s of Scotland will replace its existing freezing equipment with low carbon, power efficient units run on ammonia – a gas which poses no threat to the environment.
The innovative combined solution, which is Scotland’s first large scale plant combining biomass heat and absorption chilling, will cool Mackie’s ice cream with heat from a biomass boiler, powered by a sustainable energy source.
The new refrigeration system will enable the company to target ambitious CO2e reductions of 90% and energy costs of 70-80%.
A grant from the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme and Bank of Scotland loan which are funding the project hope that its success will inspire other Scottish fish, meat and dairy food manufacturers to adopt similar energy-efficient technology.
Gerry Stephens, Finance Director at Mackie’s of Scotland, said: “Our ultimate aim is to one day go completely off-grid and use 100% renewable energy. This is an important step towards realising these green ambitions.
“With Bank of Scotland’s support we are realising our green ambitions and, in the long run, we hope that our new system will set a precedent and make the energy-intensive food and drink sector more sustainable.”
Marc Gilmour, Relationship Director, Bank of Scotland, said: “This project will help the Scottish Government to meet its Energy Strategy targets, which aim to generate 50 per cent of Scotland’s heat, transport and electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2030.
“Bank of Scotland is fully committed to playing a key role in funding Scotland’s transition to a green economy and helping Britain prosper. By utilising our expertise and Clean Growth Finance Initiative we want to make business’ green projects happen.”
Planning permission is now being sought and a project manager has been employed with the target to begin foundation work before the summer.
