Recycling energy from the supermarket car park
Supermarket giant Sainsbury has introduced a new energy recycling system at a store in Gloucester which uses kinetic energy from the car park to create enough power to run the checkout tills. Using kinetic energy, each time a car runs over the kinetic plates in the car park these power generators underground which then produce energy to power the tills in store.
It is estimated that the plates can produce 30 kW of green energy per hours which is more than enough power to run the stores checkouts and save significant money as well as assisting the environment. While this is not the first time that kinetic energy has been used to recycle power it is the first time it has been used in UK supermarkets. If, as expected, the trial period is successful it is likely to be rolled out across the Sainsbury supermarket chain and could in due course become the norm across the sector.
This is just one of a number of supermarket recycling systems which are currently under consideration and which have already impacted upon energy use across the UK in the business arena. When you consider that such a simple device as plates moving up and down will provide enough energy to support the tills in a supermarket it does make you wonder what else we are missing out on?