Waitrose wants to make its new store on the Isle of Wight its first outlet to be entirely powered by biomass. The retailer has asked the local authority for planning permission to turn an electricity substation into a biomass plant.
If the proposals are approved, all the heating, cooling and electricity needs the 18,000 square-foot East Cowes store could be managed sustainably. The store could supply its power completely off-grid and enjoy a carbon negative footprint.
In an interview with environmental publication GreenWise, a spokesman for Waitrose said the shop would be the company’s first ever to be fully powered by biomass. Also a first, the store’s biomass boiler would be powered by wood chips from local managed woodlands if given the go-ahead.
The spokesman said that the scheme would be a trial for Waitrose and that the company’s vision is to have a shop that requires no gas or electricity from the national grid. He added that employment and income would also be provided for local wood chip producers and that the store would save 1,900 tons of C02 a year, making it better than carbon neutral.
The biomass scheme could also provide heating for shops in the surrounding development, according to the supermarket chain. One such development that could benefit from Waitrose’s power would be a nearby medical centre. There are also 180 new homes planned for building near the shop, but it is unclear whether energy the scheme will be able to stretch that far.
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