http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/i/5407/?cid=3

UK Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker opened a new woodchip-fuelled energy centre at supermarket retailer Waitrose's Bracknell store in the south of England this week.

The low-carbon energy centre developed by energy services company MITIE, which will also operate the energy centre, uses local sustainable woodchip to generate power, heat and cooling for the store.

It is the second such energy centre developed by MITIE and Waitrose, following one at the company's East Cowes store that started operating in March this year.

The energy centre in Bracknell promises to provide most of the store's energy needs, cutting reliance on grid electricity by 69% and gas by 84%, to save over 750 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.

Sourcing the woodchip from local sources will also mean a £150,000 boost for the local economy and new jobs at suppliers.

"In an increasingly volatile energy market this advanced new energy centre reduces Waitrose's reliance on the grid and provides economic and predictably priced energy," says Mike Tivey, managing director of MITIE's asset management business. "[It] is a perfect example of the many benefits on-site energy generation can provide."

Waitrose is part of the John Lewis Partnership, which has set a target of reducing its operational carbon emissions 15% on 2011 levels by 2021. As part of that drive, some 150 similar on-site energy generation centres are planned across the country.