Bolney Wine Estate

Genfit have designed and installed a 59.4kWp solar PV array across two roof spaces, following the construction of a new winery, at Bolney Wine Estate in Sussex.

The system installation was a community funded project by Brighton Energy Cooperative.  The energy generated will be sold to the winery at a lower rate than regular fossil fuel generated power through a PPA (power purchase agreement.

The system benefits from dual module level system monitoring, through Solaredge panel optimisation.  This helps towards providing detailed data and analysis on the PV systems performance through the Solaredge Monitoring Portal.

198 PV modules were installed in total, providing an estimated annual generation of 63.6MWh.

The array is greatly reducing the winery’s usage of energy from fossil fuel, creating a saving of 28.57 tonnes of harmful CO2 emissions each year.

In February 2020 Genfit delivered a 60kWp community funded PV system at Neston Recreation Centre on behalf of Chester Community Energy, in partnership with Brio Leisure and CWAC.  This was the culmination of 12 months of preparation, planning and fund raising and resulted in two sites being successfully installed by Genfit in just 9 consecutive working days.  The solar generated will be supplied to the centre under a power purchase agreement, resulting in significant cost saving’s to the centre and provides an income to CCEL.

  CCEL able to re-invest in community energy saving projects and develop further sites

  Significant cost savings for the centre

  System estimated to generate 48,000kWh in the first year

  Predicted to save 560 tonnes of CO2 emissions over 20 years

British master papermaker James Cropper has been recognised for its support of Burneside Community Energy (BCE).  The multi-award winning project, which launched in December 2015, has been praised as a sustainable eco-friendly solution, while James Cropper was commended for its commitment to green energy and the local community.

Genfit, working in partnership with BCE, installed a 430kW solar array in August 2019 to bring the total site to 680kW to generate clean, green electricity and enables residents – many of whom are also employees – in the parish local to the business’ headquarters to benefit from this outstanding investment in renewable energy.

James Cropper sustainability team, commented: “With BCE we set out to generate greener energy in a way that doesn’t compromise the special ecology or superb landscape of Burneside and Cumbria and the project also rewards the parish and its investors with ethical energy and financial benefits. It really is terrific to see that our efforts are paying off already.The scheme will create an invaluable amount of environmental and social benefit for the community, ranging from help and advice for those in fuel poverty and support for young people and the school, to provision of community services and conservation and wildlife enhancement. It’s helping to create a positive, sustainable legacy for future generations in Burneside, while reducing our dependency on fossil fuels.”

Genfit are delighted that they have received a commended award as part of their involvement in the Large Scale PV Installation Project at The North West Energy Efficiency Awards 2020.