A local gym is installing one of the island’s largest solar arrays on its roof.

Elite Fitness, currently based in Douglas’s Spring Valley industrial estate, is moving to the old Jack Frost building which is also in the estate. It will open at the end of summer.

The new building, which will be the largest commercial gym in the island, will be fitted out with solar panels capable of producing 54 KW of energy and covering 3000 sq ft of roof space.

Elite Fitness says this will produce enough sustainable energy to supply all the new gym’s electricity.

Stefan White, a co-founder of Elite Fitness, explained: ‘When we started planning our new site we wanted to do our bit to support the island’s move towards 2035 Climate Change targets.

‘We looked at our energy use and realised that the combination of our machinery, hot water, saunas, and lighting consumes a surprising amount of power. So, it wasn’t only aspirational, but made commercial sense to invest in our own sustainable energy source for the new property. Solar energy combined with our new recycling, waste and digital processing policies, should enable us to be close to carbon neutral within a year.

Daphne Caine, MHK and chair of the Climate Change Transformation Board, commented: “Energy use on the Isle of Man accounts for 34% of total emissions, so tackling electricity generation is critical.

‘Although Manx Utilities has started some very significant sustainable solar and wind projects, it is great to also see locally owned businesses like Elite Fitness also making significant direct investments in more sustainable energy.’