A MAJOR supermarket chain is hoping to be given the green light to install environmentally-friendly power stations at two local stores. Tesco has submitted plans to Huntingdonshire District Council to build a combined heat and power station at the Barford

A MAJOR supermarket chain is hoping to be given the green light to install environmentally-friendly power stations at two local stores.

Tesco has submitted plans to Huntingdonshire District Council to build a combined heat and power station at the Barford Road branch in Eynesbury and to install a number of micro wind turbines at the Tesco Extra store in Abbotts Ripton Road, Huntingdon.

Katherine Symonds, climate change manager for Tesco, said she was excited that the projects could soon be getting off the ground.

She said: "It's fantastic that our Huntingdonshire stores are at the centre of our green plans.

"Across the company, Tesco is investing £100 million in a bid to halve our carbon footprint by 2020. This means we are going back into our older stores and fitting new technology to really drive down our emissions."

She explained that they were also encouraging their staff to be more energy efficient, for example by turning off lights that aren't needed and not overfilling fridges and freezers.

She also said that the company was very excited by the combined heat and power station (CHP), which has the potential to save "an enormous amount" of energy.

Mrs Symonds said: "Greenpeace are very enthusiastic about the CHP system.

"About two thirds of energy generated by the big national power stations is lost in transit via the National Grid. By generating power locally, we will save a considerable amount of energy. Also, because it is a combined heat and power system, we can harness the heat that is produced and use it warm our stores. Nationally, the heat produced is regarded as a 'waste' product and that is why you see those giant cooling towers at power plants."

She described the CHP system as "the size of a bus on its side".

The six kilowatt Ropatec WindRotor wind turbines are approximately the same height as a standard residential street lamp (about 10m), and "blend in well with the urban environment".

INFORMATION: Tesco's application is due to be determined by HDC in December.