A NEW wind farm in Scotland is set to supply half the power needed for Nestlé’s operations in the UK and Ireland, the company has announced.

Its milk processing plant at Dalston, near Carlisle, which employs 325 people, would be one of the sites to benefit from the scheme.

A 15-year partnership with Community Windpower will see Nestlé buying electricity generated by a new nine-turbine wind farm in Dumfries and Galloway once it opens in the first half of 2017.

The Sanquhar community wind farm, north of Dumfries, will produce around 125 gigawatt hours of electricity a year – the equivalent of powering 30,000 homes – all of which will be bought by Nestle to meet 50 per cent of its electricity needs in the UK and Ireland.

The partnership has given Community Windpower the assurance to go ahead with the project.

The company had already announced it would get all its grid-supplied electricity from renewables in a deal with EDF, but the global food giant said the deal to buy energy from the wind farm would ensure new low carbon power capacity was constructed.

Dame Fiona Kendrick, chief executive of Nestlé UK & Ireland, said: “We announced back in April that all of our grid-supplied electricity is coming from renewable sources, but today’s announcement takes things a huge step further.

“This is a newly-commissioned wind farm, generating new energy, creating capacity that didn’t previously exist and capable of providing half of our electricity needs.

“It’s a proud moment for us and means we have reached another key milestone in our efforts to become a sustainable business.”

Rod Wood, managing director of Community Windpower, said: “Community Windpower are delighted to be working with Nestlé by providing 50 per cent of their energy requirements from our Sanquhar community wind farm project.”

Nestlé has signed up to the RE100 initiative, which sees major companies committing to sourcing 100 per cent of their energy needs from renewables as part of efforts to drive the shift towards a low carbon economy.

The company has also had an aim to cut its UK carbon footprint by 40 per cent by 2020, which it said it will hit well ahead of schedule.

Emily Farnworth, RE100 campaign director, said: “Nestlé recognises that climate change impacts pose a risk to the business, and sees renewable energy as part of the solution.

“Today’s announcement takes the company a step closer to its goal of sourcing 100 per cent renewable electricity across its global operations, and reinforces the strong market signal – sent through RE100 – that business demand for renewables is rising."