More and more companies are generating their own power.

Back in 2018, we reported that the AFD Group, which took over the old Island Film Studios site just outside Ramsey in 2014, added what is called a ’huge solar array’ on the roof of Studio One so the property could generate more than 400kWH (units) of genuinely green electricity per day.

More recently the insurance company Zurich announced that almost half of the electricity used by one company in its Isle of Manb Business Park based was generated by solar panels in 12 months.

Now Manx Telecom is following suit.

Its first ‘Solar Panel Project’ is an energy-efficiency initiative to help meet the company’s sustainability targets.

The project, which took 28 weeks to complete, has seen the installation of 224 solar panels across four elevations on Manx Telecom’s headquarters building at the Isle of Man Business Park.

Within the first few months of operation, the panels have already successfully harnessed an astounding 15.3 megawatts of renewable solar energy.

This represents a saving of 6,003.9kg of carbon emissions, the equivalent of planting 178 trees, and provided Manx Telecom with around 25% of its headquarters energy requirements.

Around 9% of the clean energy generated was exported back to the grid to provide a renewable energy source to the local community.

Within the last few months, the company has undertaken various environmental initiatives to help cut its carbon footprint, including investment in a fleet of electric vehicles, waste recycling, installing hedgehog ladders at its ponds at headquarters and tree planting with the Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT).

Gary Lamb, chief executive officer at Manx Telecom, said: ‘I am delighted that we have invested in our first solar power project within the group as part of our ongoing sustainability programme.

‘At Manx Telecom we are passionate about our community and the environment that we live in. This project is an important milestone and one of many initiatives we have planned over the coming months and years to help reduce our carbon footprint and help safeguard our environment.’

On a much bigger scale, plans have been submitted for the first grid-scale solar farm and battery storage on the Isle of Man to provide affordable renewable electricity to residents and businesses and help improve energy security for the island.

Following a public consultation, in which 90% of participating Manx residents stressed the importance of renewable energy generation on the island, at the beginning of the year Peel Cubico Renewables (PCR) applied for planning permission for the Billown Solar Farm in Malew, near Castletown.

The new facility which could be operational next year, would be built on 84 acres of agricultural land to the west of Malew Road (A3) and south of Douglas Road (A7).

The solar farm would have an installed capacity of around 27MW – enough to power nearly 8,000 homes per year, almost 21% of total households in the island.