The Royal Mint has unveiled its local energy centre which provides renewable source of power for its 38-acre manufacturing site in Llantrisant.
The coin manufacturer aims to generate 70% of the power used across its site to reduce its reliance on the national grid as it aims to hit net zero by 2050.
The Royal Mint head of sustainability Inga Doak said sustainability is at the “front and centre” of the company’s innovations.
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A solar farm, an additional wind-turbine, a combined heat and power plant and battery storage has also been installed to form the new centre.
The electricity will be used across The Royal Mint’s operations, including currency production, commemorative coins and its precious metals business, where it produces gold and silver bullion coins and investment bars.
Head of operations Leighton John said the Royal Mint wants to “ensure that as we grow and transform for the future, we’re doing so in a way that’s sustainable.”
“As we strive towards becoming a leader in sustainable precious metals, this launch is extremely exciting and will act as a cleaner, greener source of energy for a number of innovative business initiatives we’re on the cusp of launching,” he added.
In its first full six months of operation (January to June 2023), The Royal Mint’s solar farm alone generated almost 1.1GW of renewable electricity, equating to the average annual energy consumption of approximately 390 UK households.
The centre is made up of advanced technology: a 2MW solar farm, two wind turbines, a hydrogen-ready combined heat and power unit (CHP) and a dual chemistry battery energy storage system (BESS).
The local energy centre has the potential to produce 17GWh of electricity per annum, the average annual energy consumption of approximately 5,862 UK households.
There are 4,056 solar panels at the new solar farm and the new wind turbine stands at 89m tall.
The Royal Mint partnered with Infinite Renewables to create the energy centre.
Infinite Renewables director Andrew Crossman said the company is “extremely proud to have delivered the Royal Mint Energy Centre.
“This low carbon Energy Centre is a trail blazing project that shines a light on the future of local, multi-technology generation, whilst providing energy security for the future,” he added.
