A THRIVING Eden company has invested £150,000 in renewable energy.

Appleby Creamery, based on the Cross Croft Industrial Estate, has installed 480 solar panels on its roof which will provide up to 180 kW of generation capacity.

The panels demonstrate an investment of more than £150,000 and include grant funding from The Lake District Foundation and Westmorland and Furness Council, through the ‘Greening Eden’ initiative.

A new 22kW public electric vehicle charger has also been installed at the creamery.

“This is all part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability at the creamy,” said managing director Maurice Walton.

“Electricity usage is very high here and we want to be as green as possible in our operation.

“During the day the panels are supplying all our power and once we install a suitable battery storage system in early 2024 which will be partly funded by Cumbria LEP, we hope to become almost self-sufficient in electricity and reduce consumption of LPG.

“This is obviously weather dependent and it will be interesting to see how the system performs in winter.”

The company was founded in 2007 and specialises in producing white mould-ripened brie and other cheeses such as Gloucester and Red Leicester.

It sells its cheeses at high-end farm shops and retail outlets around Cumbria and to further afield, such as the Fenwick department store in Newcastle.

And the business is always developing new products such as a halloumi-style grilling cheese log, which is ready to slice to create burgers.