Sainsbury’s claims it is now the largest solar panel operator in the UK and Europe.

The supermarket chain says it has installed 69,500 new PV panels across 169 stores in the country. It claims this will generate 16MW of electricity, which is enough to power around 4,100 homes.

It is also expected to reduce the company’s carbon emissions by around 6,800 tonnes every year.

Justin King, Chief Executive of the company said: “We believe the retail sector should take another look at solar energy as a viable way to reduce its impact on the environment.

“Big contracts like this support job creation in the renewable energy sector and are essential for our solar industry to thrive. We believe that we’ll see the cost of solar energy reaching parity with the grid on commercial installations like this in the next two and four years and that may well herald a new boom in the solar industry.”

The supermarket also announced plans to power 100 of its stores with underground renewable heat last month. The project is part of its efforts to cut carbon emissions and has a target of reducing half of its emissions by 2030.