Energy plates

Sainsbury’s has launched a Kinetic Road Plates system that it claims generates green energy every time a customer drives through its car park.

In what is said to be a European first, kinetic plates have been installed at Sainsbury’s new store in Gloucester in order to reduce the amount of electricity needed from the National Grid.

The system works by creating rocking motions that turn generators under the road surface.

According to the company, energy captured from cars passing over the plates will generate around 30kW of electricity an hour: enough to power the store’s check-outs.

Alison Austin, Sainsbury’s environment manager, said: ‘This is revolutionary, not only are we the first to use such cutting-edge technology with our shoppers, but customers can now play a very active role in helping to make their local shop greener, without extra effort or cost.