A multinational food and beverage company has installed 600 solar panels at its Suffolk farm to help it generate renewable energy.

The move has been made by American-owned PepsiCo at its site in Boxford, near Sudbury, home to Copella fruit juices.

Six-hundred panels were installed from January through to this month and are being fired up this week ready for the good weather.

The idea for the 150KW solar roof panels was originally conceived by local staff at the site, as part of an initiative for PepsiCo employees to suggest ways to make the company more sustainable.

Dave Clark, sustainability manager at PepsiCo UK, said: “At PepsiCo, we are committed to building a more sustainable organisation and work to find innovative ways to minimise our impact on the environment.

“The roof installation at our Boxford site generated enough green electricity in its first week to run an average UK home for a whole year.”

Gregory Barker MP, minister of state for climate change, said: “Rooftop solar represents a huge opportunity for manufacturers to generate their own energy, reducing business costs and carbon emissions at the same time.”

The installation is the latest investment which forms part of PepsiCo UK’s Path to Zero strategy – a campaign with the target to make all UK operations and manufacturing fossil fuel free by 2023.

Copella is made using 25 different varieties of apples – the vast majority of which are handpicked at the Boxford farm, home to the business since 1969.