West Yorkshire's Orchard Energy coaches Millennium Stadium in energy efficiency

Orchard Energy, the West Yorkshire-based energy management specialist, has been appointed by the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to review its energy efficiency as part of a new government programme.

UK businesses that turn over €50m or employ 250 or more people are required to participate in the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), a mandatory government legislation which aims to reduce the amount of energy being wasted by businesses.

Led by the Environment Agency, businesses are required to undergo an energy audit of their buildings, industrial processes and transport use, to identify energy saving measures, and if implemented, could lead to huge cost savings.

Once a business is ESOS compliant, it must repeat the same process every four years.

The Millennium Stadium is home to Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and plays host to major rugby competitions.

The venue is aiming to convert its energy consumption into cost savings through ESOS, which will mainly focus on the stadium’s utility costs, providing management with a good understanding of what energy they uses, how they use it and what opportunities are available for improvement and development.

Orchard Energy was chosen as the Millennium Stadium’s service provider over alternative energy consultancies because of the West Yorkshire company’s track record in dealing with similar compliance issues and because the venue’s management are confident that Orchard will carry out a thorough audit and provide informed energy saving recommendations.

Darren Crossman, facilities manager at the stadium, said: “We have a very good relationship with Orchard Energy as the supplier of our market intelligence and information, so when we identified that they were offering the ESOS evaluation and audit service it seemed to be the natural progression to utilise their services and retain independency from any one energy supplier.

“Essentially ESOS is a good piece of legislation for large companies as it gives the drive and support to make the necessary changes to save energy and become more environmentally aware. We will fully investigate and evaluate all of the proposals with a view to implementing where finances permit.”

Gareth Henderson, Orchard Energy’s group managing director, added: “The ESOS scheme is a significant savings opportunity for large businesses. It does require initial investment, but the rewards at the end of it are considerably worthwhile. Many see it as just another legislation that the Government has introduced, but don’t realise that if they make the changes set out in their audit, it can save them thousands of pounds and help towards becoming a sustainable business.

“Businesses such as the Millennium Stadium come back to us year-on-year for advice on how to become more energy efficient. We understand the market and are aware of legislations such as ESOS, so they value our expertise and trust our recommendations.”