Hillbrow Sports Centre, in Eastbourne, is part of the University of Brighton offering extensive sports and recreation facilities for the campus and for the local community.  This Genfit solar PV installation project builds on the success of working with Brighton Energy Co-operative (BEC), a Brighton-based collective which builds community-funded solar systems across Sussex.

A total of 554 panels were installed across the two roofs of  Hillbrow Sports Centre and Robert Dodd Annexe buildings in Eastbourne, with a total capacity of just under 150kW. The panels will generate 150,000 kWh of electricity a year, enough to power 33 UK households, saving the university over £6,000 a year and cutting annual carbon emissions by 60 tonnes of CO₂.

The University is ranked as one of the top 10 Universities in the country in terms of on-site renewable energy generation and over a third of the current installed capacity was installed as a result of the innovative collaboration with Brighton Energy Co-op.  The installation and operation of the panels is governed by a lease and power purchase agreement between the University and BEC.

To fund the installation of the panels, BEC to raise over £230K in finance from its energy co-operative members through a series of share offers [which were all over subscribed]. Many of those members live in the Brighton area. The income generated from the project has been reinvested into funding further solar installations in Brighton, repaying interest to investors and a proportion will also go into a community fund which is being used to fund environmental education initiatives within the Brighton area.

Having developed a successful model of collaboration with the University, Brighton Energy Co-Op are now planning to install community-owned electric vehicle charge points on the campus.

With University funding having suffered a series of cuts the community energy model offers an opportunity for Universities to invest in on-site renewable energy generation at no capital cost in ways which drive social impact.

Abigail Dombey, the University’s Environmental Manager, said: “We’re delighted to be working again with BEC on another solar project to increase our onsite renewable energy generation, reducing our energy costs and showing the university’s commitment to sustainability.”

Derwen Garden Centre in Guilsfield, Welshpool have had a 69kWp solar PV installation done by ourselves to help them reduce energy costs.

They have had 184 Longi Solar, LR4-60HPH Solar Panels installed over three buildings as well as 1 Solar Edge 50K Inverter and 92 P801 Optimizers.

What is the Longi Solar, LR4-60HPH Solar Panels?

The Longi Solar, LR4-60HPH Solar Panels is a low LID Mono PERC with half-cut technology. Offering a 10-year product warranty and 25 year linear power output warranty, it has a black frame and white back sheet.

Grimsby Enterprise Village teamed up with their business support organisation (E Factor) to invest in the installation of a 36.75kWp solar PV system on to the roofs of the Enterprise Village’s units, located on Prince Albert Gardens in Grimsby. The solar PV installation delivered by Genfit, now means the businesses operating from the site are consuming the renewable energy generated on the roof, rather than drawing power from the Grid.

Natalie Cresswell, Property & Operations Manager at E-Factor, said: “We’re always looking at ways to enhance our tenancies and with forecasted increases in electricity prices, we knew we wanted to make further investments into sustainable, renewable energies. We’re committed to making the whole site more environmentally friendly, and this new installation will enable us to help protect our tenants against some of those increases in energy prices, as well as reducing their carbon footprint.”

98 solar PV panels were installed across the whole building, estimated to generate 30.79MWh per annum. The energy generated will provide some of the electricity for each individual unit and will reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 8.65 tonnes per annum. Surplus power will be fed back into the National Grid.

Laser Red, an award-winning digital agency, have been tenants of The Enterprise Village since 2015. Managing Director, Liam O’Leary said: “We have an ever-expanding team who are all using different forms of technology from our office, whether they’re online or using video and photography equipment in our new media studio, so it’s great to know that E-Factor are taking action now to help reduce electricity costs for the future, and doing their part for the environment too.

This 90 PV Module solar system was installed on behalf of Kingfisher in Peterborough. Our Client, Solar Century that now goes by the name of Statkraft asked about the prospect of having a solar system installed on the Screwfix Stores roof. The outcome of what was being installed was 90 x Canadian Solar All-Black CS6K-270m solar panels and two different inverters, the Solax ZDNY 10000 and the Solax X3-Hybrid-10.0T. The Peterborough store marks the first time Kingfisher has used solar panels or air source pumps together with battery storage to power operations around the clock.

Power is generated by the solar panels during the day, and excess energy is used to charge the batteries which power the store in the evenings. The air source heat pump has replaced gas and electric heating, and together with the solar PV system, heats the store more efficiently. Surplus power goes back to the grid, off-setting the days in winter when the solar PV will be generating less power and grid energy is needed to power the store.

Graham Bell, CEO at Screwfix, commented: “We are investing now to cut energy across our own operations, and our long-term aspiration is to match this by helping customers have zero carbon or energy positive homes and businesses too. Our net zero store in Peterborough represents a significant milestone in our ambition to embed sustainability across the business, and help customers to create good, sustainable homes and businesses.”

If you have a store and looking to go solar then don’t forget to send us an enquiry with the form below!