Rhug Estate covers 5,018 hectares of breath-taking scenery across central and coastal areas in north Wales and its charm is more than skin deep, with sustainability firmly at the heart of the business’ mission. When Lord Newborough took over the estate management from his father in 1998, it was his vision which shaped a wholly sustainable farming model, which includes high standards of animal welfare, and sustainable use of natural resources, for which Rhug won a ‘Footprint Award’ through its renewable heat and power generation. The capacity of the renewable energy schemes on the estate ranges from 4KW to 5MW, and generated electricity is either used on site or exported to the grid.

Solar
The solar technology ranges from 4KW to 1,235KW at Rhug plus a 5MW scheme on the coast and was installed from 2011 to 2016, making use of the Feed-in Tariff.
Wind Turbines
We have two 225KW wind turbines on the coast, they are located at Caernarfon Airport, home to Wales Air Ambulance and HM Coastguard Search and Rescue Helicopters.
Electric Vehicle Chargers
We have a eight 120kW Instavolt car charges which are located to the left of our Farm Shop. They use a simple, contactless payment system and do not have a connection charge or require a subscription. Simply tap your card and pay for whatever you use. During periods of solar gain, the electricity supply will come directly from our solar panels located behind the Farm buildings. This aspect makes the charger highly sustainable, and very unusual.
Heat Pumps
We’re gradually rolling out heat-pumps to both residential and commercial properties on the estate, these are mostly air-source systems, but we also have some ground-source systems.
Hydro
We have a 7.5KW Francis water turbine and heat pump at the end of the lake in front of Rug Hall. On the river Alwen, we also have an Archimedes screw, that drives another hydro-electric power scheme.
Packaging
All of our Takeaway and Drive Thru packaging is fully compostable or recyclable. We are also closely working with our suppliers in the shop to achieve the same for our Rhug Farm Shop product’s.