Marston’s launches solar rollout across 120 pubs in landmark deal
Two Blues Solar, a renewable energy solutions provider, has partnered with pub group Marstons and installer Nuvolt, to deploy solar across 120 of the Marston’s pubs over the next 12 months.
The £5.4m initiative, fully financed by Atrato Onsite Energy, operates through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) – a long-term contract in which Marston’s will purchase 100% of the renewable energy generated on its roofs rather than owning the solar equipment.
It guarantees certainty of energy prices for 25 years, protecting Marston’s from market volatility and delivering immediate cost savings for the pub group.
The project will also contribute to Marston’s sustainability strategy and 2040 Net Zero targets, as each installation is expected to generate approximately 30,000 kWh of electricity annually, meeting c.15-20% of an individual pub’s energy demand.
The rollout will reduce Marston’s carbon emissions by 600 tonnes in the first year, equivalent to removing 430 cars from the road.
Andy Kershaw, director of investment at Marston’s said: “As the UK’s leading local pub company, we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment, as we work towards a greener future for our guests, our people and the communities we serve.
“Through this partnership, we can now significantly accelerate the rollout of solar across our community-based pub estate without diverting capital from our core operations, which will help our pubs make the transition to renewable energy while reducing our total emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.”
Two Blues Solar is the developer, whilst Nuvol handles the technical installation.
Atrato Onsite Energy funds the rollout, retains ownership of the systems throughout the PPA term and handles the ongoing monitoring.
Daniel Levene, co-founder of Two Blues Solar said: “This is the first multi-site Power Purchase Agreement rollout of its kind for a large pub chain in the UK.
“Many traditional PPA providers shy away from clients with fragmented estates due to administrative complexity. Our standardised framework simplifies deployment across hundreds of sites, offering Marston’s a single, predictable energy rate for 25 years – insulating them from market swings while removing upfront costs.”
Installations have already been completed at the following locations:
