Heat and Two Veg

NEW SPTALFIELDS MARKET POWERED BY LONDON'S LARGEST SOLAR PROJECT

As one of the UK's biggest and most important vegetable, fruit and flower markets, New Spitalfields operates around the clock, with its 115 traders supplying a broad range of fresh produce to businesses across London and beyond. This obviously creates substantial energy demands for refrigeration, lighting, and other essential infrastructure but thanks to London's largest solar installation, now every unit of electricity generated and consumed at the market is powered by sunlight and doesn't need to be drawn from the National Grid.

Completed in late August 2026 and delivered by Vital Energi, the project comprising 2,730 solar panels with a 1.4 megawatt-peak (MWp) solar array, is expected to generate around 1.27 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, which is enough to power approximately 470 homes. It's also forecast to cut carbon emissions by around 225 tonnes a year, according to a news release from the City of London Corporation, which manages the market.

"New Spitalfields Market is a vital part of London's fresh produce supply chain, serving businesses and communities across the capital every day," said Mark Wheatley, Chairman of the City of London Corporation Markets Board. "This investment helps ensure the market remains a modern, efficient and well-equipped facility, supporting traders and customers while strengthening its long-term future."

The solar installation will also help the City of London Corporation to achieve its own goal of reaching net zero across its own operations by 2027 and it's hoped that the project will act as a blueprint for further large-scale commercial renewable energy infrastructure across the capital.

Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, Chris Hayward, said: "As the UK experiences periods of extreme heat and rising electricity demand for cooling, this project demonstrates the value of investing in local renewable energy generation."

Images: City of London Corporation