PepsiCo UK, the UK branch of food and beverage company PepsiCo, has announced a multi-million-pound investment into a new rooftop solar project at its Leicester-located Southern Region Distribution Centre.
March 13, 2026
PepsiCo UK will work together with Ineco Energy, an energy infrastructure specialist, to install solar panels across 30,000 square metres of its Southern Region Distribution Centre in Leicester.
The project is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in September 2026.
Upon completion, the 3.56MWp solar PV project is expected to meet 100% of the centre’s annual electricity demand. 
Angus Rose, director at Ineco Energy, explained: “Once operational, it will be one of the largest rooftop systems of its kind in the UK food manufacturing sector, generating the same amount of electricity that the SRDC (Southern Region Distribution Centre) uses in a full year.”
As the array will provide the energy needed for the distribution centre, the company expects that this will reduce demand on the national grid. Furthermore, surplus electricity will contribute to powering a Walkers crisps manufacturing plant, which is located next door to the distribution centre.
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Andy Smethurst, UK warehousing and logistics director at PepsiCo, said: “Leicester is already home to one of the world’s largest crisp factories, and now we’re delivering one of the most complex solar power systems, right here in the East Midlands.”
The solar installation will cost £3.6m and follows a £14m investment made in 2021 to upgrade the distribution centre. The company has cited the distribution centre’s upgrade as one of the company’s largest UK logistics investments, as the centre occupies a key role in its UK supply chain. The Leicester site employs 240 people and distributes the products made at six nationwide factories.
The project is part of a wider set of PepsiCo’s sustainability investments for its UK sites. The Southern Region Distribution Centre had previously switched to electric ovens, the company has installed new machinery at the company’s Coventry site to improve efficiency and it added more efficient fryers at its site in Brigg, Lincolnshire.
According to PepsiCo, this series of projects reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 2,400 tonnes per year.
Climate minister Katie White concluded: “We welcome PepsiCo’s decision to embrace our rooftop solar revolution … It’s a great example of how businesses in Britain can cut emissions, lower bills and strengthen our energy security.”
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Catie Owen
Contributing writer
Since 2019, Catie has been writing news, interviews, client content and editing magazines. In recent years, her interest in sustainability has led her to pursue renewable energy as her primary beat. Having written primarily about solar energy and storage, Catie also enjoys covering the positive human impact of renewable technology.
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