26
May
Sunshine becomes vital new ingredient in Theakston's brewing process
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Theakston's brewery is breaking with tradition to add a new ingredient – sunshine – to its beer-making process.
The Masham-based family firm has installed 205 solar panels to its south-facing buildings to help power the Georgian-era brewery.
The panels, which will provide the brewery with around 25% of its annual energy needs, have been funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which was administered by North Yorkshire Council.
Simon Theakston, chairman of T&R Theakston, said:
We are grateful to the UKSPF and North Yorkshire Council for their support through this funding which has enabled us to take this valuable step towards a more sustainable operation here at the brewery.
Being based in the heart of North Yorkshire, we're passionate about the environment and are proud to be playing our part to protect it. From our use of traditional wooden casks for Old Peculier and all our other casks, which are collected, cleaned and reused every day to now being able to produce our own energy, we are committed to evolving in ways which will make our business and our industry more sustainable.
The panels will produce about a quarter of the brewery's energy needs.
The large roofs of brewery buildings lend themselves to the installation of solar panels, and the Theakston's development is the latest example in a growing tendency for beer companies to harness solar energy.
In Yorkshire alone, Bradfield Brewery in Sheffield went solar with 158 panels as long ago as 2011, and the giant John Smith's brewery in Tadcaster followed suit in 2014 with more than 4,000 panels, making it the UK's largest green brewery at the time.
They were followed in 2015 by Keighley-based Timothy Taylors, and in 2021 by Leeds-based North Brewing Co (104 panels).
North Yorkshire Council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, former chair of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund Local Partnership Group in the county, said:
Looking at renewable energy sources is a key priority for the council so seeing this funding going into solar panels at Masham is a perfect fit.
The UKSPF programme set out to boost the local economy and add community value for local people, and this project fits the bill perfectly.
North Yorkshire Council was awarded £16.9 million from the government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) in 2022, and used it to fund 791 projects up to March 2025.
The council estimates that it safeguarded or created 2,000 jobs and directly supported more than 1,020 businesses. The export and investment programme added £170 million to the county’s economy.
In 2024, the government announced a one-year extension of the UK Shared Prospertiy Fund to March 2026. This will be delivered by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, which has been allocated £8.7 million in funding.
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