Dewlay announces work due to start on wind turbine

Leading Lancashire cheese producer, Dewlay, has announced plans for a 126m wind turbine at its site in Garstang, making it the first UK cheese maker to be powered by renewable energy.

Established in 1957, the family-run business which is famous for quality Lancashire cheeses including Garstang Blue, confirmed today that it plans to have the wind turbine fully operational by October of this year.

The announcement by Dewlay, underpins the cheese maker’s commitment to the environment and comes in the wake of the UK dairy industry’s efforts to increase the use of renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions.

The turbine will be erected on Dewlay’s own 18 acre green field site behind its cheese manufacturing and packaging facility, with contractors starting on site in May to install the turbine in September.

Commenting on the news, operational director, Nick Kenyon said; “As a business, we are fully committed to our environmental objectives and are excited to be at the forefront of this technology.

“The dairy industry accounts for a high proportion of the country’s carbon emissions and we are confident that the wind turbine will reduce our own emissions by 2,260 tonnes per year, paving the way forward for the rest of the industry.”

Third generation cheesemaker, Nick added: “Garstang is famous as the world’s first Fairtrade town and we hope that this will raise the region’s profile even further and prompt other UK cheese manufacturers to take their environmental responsibilities to the next level.”

“We see this as just another step on our journey to reduce our carbon footprint and become a more sustainable manufacturer.”

Dewlay takes its green credentials seriously and sources its milk from 10 dedicated farmers within five road miles of the dairy. It supplies a large number of regional outlets to cut down on unnecessary food miles and employs staff from the local area.

The company has planted hundreds of trees around the site and also maintains green areas to protect the natural flora and fauna.

Other green initiatives include more efficient use of water, recycling of clean plastic and cardboard, and thinner, recyclable film for sliced packs of cheese.

And Dairy UK, the voice of the dairy industry has given its full backing for Dewlay’s project to build a wind turbine at their site in Garstang. Commenting Fergus McReynolds, environmental manager said:

“Initiatives like this are a great example of ways in which the dairy sector can keep improving its environmental performance. We hope to see more moves towards renewable energy in the future, as farmers and processors work to meet ambitious green targets set out in the Milk Roadmap.

“As part of the Milk Roadmap, by 2015 10% of non-transport energy used by large processors in the sector will come from renewable sources, or combined heat and power systems. We are also aiming for energy use to continue to fall, as well as water use, waste to landfill and greenhouse gas emissions. The dairy industry is making milk greener.”

The cheesemaker is also keen to get the local community involved in the project and will be inviting children from across the region to design and decorate their own turbine, as well as to enter a competition to name it and to attend the official launch, which is planned for October.

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