Forecourt and convenience store operator The Kay Group has opened what it believes is the most energy efficient store and site in the UK.

The 24-hour site, located in Burnley, Lancashire, was knocked down and rebuilt with a vast array of energy efficiency features including LED lighting, voltage optimisation and new E-volve open deck refrigerated display units.

Solar technology is also used to convert energy from the sun’s UV rays to assist the compressors in heating up the gas in the system, also helping to reduce energy used by the chillers.

The store itself was extended from 800sq ft to 2,500sq ft and now includes more than 23 metres of refrigeration, helping it to become a destination site for fresh and chilled food customers, Kay Group managing director Richard Cox told Convenience Store.

On the forecourt there are eight pumps and a five-unit jet wash which uses harvested rainwater.

As a whole, the new site consumes less than 400kw units of electricity per day - more than 50% less than conventional sites of the same size with the same services.

The reduction was created via a joint effort between The Kay Group, energy reduction specialists Enviroglow Limited and refrigeration technology company Sedna Aire.

“With the cost of energy increasing all the time there is a real need to be as efficient as possible, and in this store we are certainly achieving that,” Cox added. “The new site is also proving a huge hit with consumers, with sales well above expectations. In fact in the first week of trading we were just £35 short of turning over £30,000 in the store alone.”

The Kay Group owns and operates 12 sites across East Lancashire and West Yorkshire.