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See how Mansfields, a leading UK fresh fruit packer, has saved £9.6 million over the lifetime of its solar installations while reducing carbon emissions by over 8,150 tonnes through rooftop solar with Harvest Green Developments.
Lifetime Savings: £9,600,000
Mansfields harnesses solar to sweeten sustainability
Mansfields, one of the UK’s largest fresh fruit packers, has taken a major step toward sustainability with a series of rooftop solar PV installations at its Canterbury facilities. Partnering with Harvest Green Developments, Mansfields has reduced reliance on the national grid, cut energy costs, and strengthened its sustainable supply chain, meeting increasing decarbonisation expectations from partners and retailers.
The project builds on a long-standing collaboration between Mansfields and Harvest Green Developments. Initial projects in 2022 laid the foundation for trust and expertise, followed by additional installations in 2023 and 2025. Across six rooftop systems at Nickle Farm alone, a total of 1.33MW of solar PV has now been installed, generating clean energy from over 2,600 panels. Each system is carefully designed for efficiency, safety, and long-term performance.
From high-energy consumption to renewable efficiency
As a high-energy user consuming up to 10GWh across multiple sites, Mansfields faced substantial grid costs and pressure to decarbonise its operations. Rooftop solar presented a clear solution. Harvest GreenDevelopments installed Trina Solar modules on steel trapezoidal roofs, supported by K2 and Antai mounting systems, with all inverters supplied by Solis and monitoring managed via Solis Cloud and Juggle Energy. Safety was prioritised with rooftop lines, cat ladders, and scissor lifts used during maintenance and operations visits.
The combined solar installations now generate approximately 1,332MWh of clean electricity annually. Most of this – 95% – is consumed on-site to power packing operations, with a small surplus exported to the grid. Over the system lifetime, this will offset more than 8,150 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
Financial benefits and operational resilience
Mansfields has achieved estimated annual energy cost savings of £320,000, with a payback period of just under three years. Over the full lifecycle of the installations, the total projected savings reach £9.6 million. These savings help the business maintain competitiveness in a sector with tight margins and high energy demands, while also protecting against future electricity price volatility.
Harvest Green Developments continues to provide full operations and maintenance support, monitoring all solar assets across previous and current installs. This ensures peak efficiency and reliability while enabling Mansfields to explore future expansion, including additional rooftop, ground-mount, or floating solar solutions, as well as potential battery storage to enhance resilience.
A story of partnership and innovation
This multi-year collaboration has been guided by close communication and trust between Mansfields and Harvest Green Developments. Key contacts at Mansfields, including Lee Port and Paul Holman, have worked closely with our project managers and engineers to ensure smooth delivery, compliance, and ongoing monitoring.
Looking to grow your sustainability credentials?
Mansfields’ successful rooftop solar programme highlights how high-energy businesses can significantly reduce costs, lower carbon emissions, and strengthen supply chain sustainability. Harvest Green Developments can help similar businesses explore commercial solar solutions tailored to operational needs, site characteristics, and long-term sustainability goals.
