London's Largest Rooftop Solar Array Switches On At New Spitalfields

New Spitalfields Market has completed what the City of London Corporation says is London's largest rooftop solar installation by capacity, in a roughly £1m investment aimed at cutting energy costs and emissions at the round-the-clock wholesale site.

The array comprises 2,730 solar panels with a total capacity of 1.4 megawatt-peak, installed by Vital Energi at the Walthamstow market in east London. It is expected to generate approximately 1.27 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year — equivalent to powering around 470 homes — and to cut carbon emissions by 225 tonnes annually.

Feeding a 24-hour cold chain

The generation goes to a site with an unusually heavy and continuous energy demand. New Spitalfields trades 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the array will support refrigeration, lighting and site infrastructure, reducing the market's reliance on grid electricity.

The market, which moved to its current Walthamstow site in 1991, occupies 31 acres and is home to 115 traders handling fresh produce sourced from more than 100 countries. The City Corporation describes it as a nationally significant hub in the UK's food supply chain.

Mark Wheatley, Chairman of the City of London Corporation's Markets Board, said: "This investment helps ensure the market remains a modern, efficient and well-equipped facility, supporting traders and customers while strengthening its long-term future."

Part of the net zero push

The scheme forms part of the City Corporation's Climate Action Strategy, under which the organisation is targeting net zero across its own operations by 2027.

Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, said: "Projects like this show how practical climate action can deliver benefits far beyond carbon reduction and are yet another example of the City Corporation delivering on its Climate Action Strategy."

For traders, the immediate relevance is cost and resilience. Wholesale markets are among the most energy-intensive links in the fresh produce chain, with continuous refrigeration a fixed and rising overhead. On-site generation of this scale offers a partial hedge against grid prices while contributing to the decarbonisation reporting increasingly expected across the supply chain.