Looking to the Future

Energy is at the heart of the climate challenge – and key to the solution.

At Windles we believe 100% in the future investment of both the business and our local home, Thame. A key part to our long term future is the research and installation of new forms of sustainable energy on our site.

Most of the greenhouse gases that trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy, mainly for electricity and heat. In 2023, the power sector was the largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The science is clear: to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, emissions must be reduced by almost half by 2030, and reach net-zero by 2050.

To achieve this, we need to end our reliance on fossil fuels and invest in alternative sources of energy that are clean, accessible, affordable, sustainable, and reliable.

Renewable energy sources — such as sunlight, wind, water, organic waste, and heat from the Earth — are abundant, replenished by nature, and emit little to no greenhouse gases or air pollutants.
Renewable energy sources: Shifting to renewables like solar, wind, and hydropower is central to a sustainable future because they generate less pollution than fossil fuels.

• Energy efficiency: This involves reducing energy consumption through better technology and practices.

• Energy storage: Technologies like distributed energy storage systems are vital to manage the intermittent nature of some renewables and ensure a consistent power supply.

• Grid modernisation: Integrating renewable energy into the grid requires advancements in grid technology and management.

• Green hydrogen: This is an emerging fuel source that can help decarbonise sectors that are difficult to electrify.

• Green investment: Financial investment is critical to fund the development and deployment of sustainable energy technologies.

Harnessing Natural & Sustainable Energy

Our ethos at Windles for product development is all about thinking ahead - what is the next new thing, what process can we create for our clients, how can we make this better. This mentality also extends in to the drive to be the most energy efficient and sustainable print and production house.

It is of paramount importance that we look 10, 20 even 50 years ahead as to how the business can minimise our operational impact on the environment and the world we live in.

With this in mind, our teams regularly meet to discuss all of the options and possibilities of harnessing energy from bi-products and natural resources - wind, solar, biomass, hydro and geothermal. The aim is to eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels, become 100% sustainable and make the finest printed products for our clients with zero waste.

The Power of the Wind

How does a wind turbine work?

Wind turbines can turn the power of wind into the electricity we all use to power our homes and businesses. They can be stand-alone, supplying just one or a very small number of homes or businesses, or they can be clustered to form part of a wind farm.

What is a wind turbine?

Wind turbines are the modern version of a windmill. Put simply, they use the power of the wind to create electricity.

Just a single wind turbine is a brilliantly efficient way to capture energy from nature. Most small to medium size companies in the UK could run solely from the energy generated by one turbine alone.

What is a wind farm?

Wind farms are groups of wind turbines. It’s pretty impressive to think that the electricity that powers so much in our lives – from charging our phones, to allowing us to make a cup of coffee or fuel an electric vehicle – might have started out as a simple gust of wind.

How do wind turbines work?

First let’s start with the visible parts of the wind farm that we’re all used to seeing – those amazingly efficient white turbines. Each of these turbines consists of a set of blades, a box beside them called a nacelle and a shaft. The wind – even just a gentle breeze – makes the blades spin, creating kinetic energy. The blades rotating in this way then also make the shaft in the nacelle turn and a generator in the nacelle converts this kinetic energy into electrical energy.

What happens to the wind-turbine generated electricity next?

To connect to the national grid, the electrical energy is then passed through a transformer on the site that increases the voltage to that used by the national electricity system.

It’s at this stage that the electricity usually moves onto the National Grid transmission network, ready to then be passed on so that, eventually, it can be used in homes and businesses. Alternatively, a wind farm or a single wind turbine can generate electricity that is used privately by an individual or small set of homes or businesses.

Solar Energy - capturing the sunshine

How does solar power work?

Solar power works by converting energy from the sun into power. There are two forms of energy generated from the sun for our use – electricity and heat.

Both are generated through the use of solar panels, which range in size from residential rooftops to ‘solar farms’ stretching over acres of rural land.

Is solar power a clean energy source?

Yes, solar power is a renewable and infinite energy source that creates no harmful greenhouse gas emissions – as long as the sun continues to shine, energy will be released.

The carbon footprint of solar panels is already quite small, as they last for over 25 years. Plus, the materials used in the panels are increasingly recycled, so the carbon footprint will continue to shrink.
 

When was solar power discovered?

Solar energy was used by humans as early as the 7th century B.C. when humans used sunlight to light fires by reflecting the sun’s rays onto shiny objects. Later, in 3rd century B.C., the Greeks and Romans harnessed solar power with mirrors to light torches for religious ceremonies.

In 1839 and at the age of just 19, French physicist Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic (PV) effect while experimenting with a cell made of metal electrodes in a conducting solution. He noted that the cell produced more electricity when it was exposed to light – it was a photovoltaic cell.

In 1954 PV technology was born when Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson developed the silicon PV cell at Bell Labs in 1954 – the first solar cell capable of absorbing and converting enough of the sun's energy into power to run everyday electrical equipment.

Today satellites, spacecraft orbiting Earth, are powered by solar energy.
 

How exactly is electricity from solar energy produced?

Solar panels are usually made from silicon, or another semiconductor material installed in a metal panel frame with a glass casing. When this material is exposed to photons of sunlight (very small packets of energy) it releases electrons and produces an electric charge.

This PV charge creates an electric current (specifically, direct current or DC), which is captured by the wiring in solar panels. This DC electricity is then converted to alternating current (AC) by an inverter. AC is the type of electrical current used when you plug appliances into normal wall sockets.

Pallets to Pellets, biomass recovery

The wooden pallets that we receive our paper supplies on is made from FSC approved timber. The size of these pallets is unique (as specified by our suppliers) so one they have reached us they become obsolete. So that these pallets are simply dis-used or thrown away, we constructed a miniature biomass hub to the rear of our building.

Entitled, Pallet-to-Pellet, these pallets are chipped into fine pieces, all the iron nails are removed and recycled, and the resulting wood chips compressed in to pellets. The bags od pellets are then stored for the colder months, when they are then used to heat the factory through an industrial ultra-efficient furnace. This has dramatically reduced the use of natural gas heating, and removed many tonnes of waste from landfill. Any spare bags are also given to the local community for their domestic woodturners and open fire.