ScottishPower has announced a deal with Debenhams to supply all of its 178 properties in the UK with electricity generated from green sources. The two-year deal will see ScottishPower supply 35MW (megawatts) of electricity per month to Debenhams stores across the UK, covering 100% of the retail giant’s electricity demands. The deal has been agreed on a flexible purchase basis, meaning that Debenhams will be able to buy their electricity in set amounts at varying periods throughout the contract.

The agreement comes shortly after ScottishPower Renewables, the UK's leading renewable energy developer, announced it was evaluating three separate coastal sites around Scotland and Northern Ireland for the development of the world’s largest tidal stream projects. The tidal projects will build on its portfolio of onshore and offshore wind power developments. The company now has over 400MW of renewable energy projects in operation with over 1000MW either consented, in construction or in planning.

 Jim Paterson, Sales and Marketing Director at ScottishPower, said: “ScottishPower is a key part of the Iberdrola Group, which is the world’s largest green energy supplier. In the UK, our commitment to renewable energy has seen us become the leader in developing wind power and at the forefront of other renewable sources such as wave and tidal.

“We recently increased our own renewable energy targets, and we now plan to be generating 1,800MW of electricity from renewable sources by 2012. This agreement with Debenhams is made possible through our continuing commitment to green energy and we hope that this relationship will continue for many years to come.”

Nigel Palmer, Debenhams' Retail Operations Director said: "This agreement to power our stores with 100 per cent green electricity is part of a long term strategy which reveals the commitment that Debenhams' has in helping the environment.

"We are going about this in a systematic manner and looking at all aspects of our operations from the way we deal with customers in stores to our distribution network.

"We will be seeking to continually improve our green performance by setting new targets for our 20,000 staff to meet."

Notes to Editors:

• The newly introduced Debenhams'  "super cube trailer", featured in the pictures, has double the capacity of a normal 45 foot trailer allowing the retailer to reduce the number of deliveries to stores by 40 journeys a week.

Media Information: Paul Ferguson 0141 566 4515 / 07702665924