The arrangement will see E.ON install, operate and maintain a new 995kW biomass boiler at Unipart’s head offices in Oxford in a new purpose built, containerised external energy centre.

Set to provide a sustainable heat source for the site over the next 10 years, the project will allow Unipart to save about 668t of carbon a year, amounting to about £10,000 worth of savings on the company’s liability in the Government CRC energy efficiency scheme. It will also bring the additional benefit of greatly reduced maintenance costs compared to those for previous heating systems.

As part of the agreement, E.ON will take over responsibility and management of the existing 1.6MW gas boilers at the site, which will be used during periods of high heat demand or during maintenance periods for the new biomass installation. Overall, the development forms part of an ongoing energy efficiency drive by Unipart, supported by E.ON, with follow-up projects at additional sites already being explored.

Thomas Buss from E.ON Connecting Energies said: “We’re looking forward to working with Unipart to deliver energy efficient heating that will bring significant benefits to the company in terms of cost and carbon emissions and help the company to deliver on its ongoing commitment and passion for environmental management.

“Developing innovative, smarter and lower carbon technology is a key part of our work and this is a great example of what our On-Site Generation team is doing to bring the benefits of innovation and knowledge that help organisations to streamline their energy consumption and make valuable savings.”