Solar panels help to reduce University's reliance on the grid

Tuesday, 10 January 2012

solar panels on the roof of the Carrington building

Two buildings on the Whiteknights campus have been converted to generate green electricity with more than 200 solar panels fitted to their roofs.

The Carrington building, already one of the University's most efficient buildings, and the low-rise Facilities Management Directorate (FMD) building, have been installed with a total of 208 new photovoltaic (PV) solar panels.

The electricity produced from the panels on the FMD building will be equivalent to the amount needed to keep the lights on for six weeks a year. The panels on the Carrington building will generate sufficient energy to power the building's ground source heat pump, which heats and cools the building to such a level of efficiency that the building has no need for additional gas central heating or air conditioning.

The large arrays will be able to generate up to 450kWh of electricity on the sunniest of days - enough to power the equivalent of 40 homes. The panels will even work in overcast conditions, providing a valuable contribution to the University's energy requirements.

Denise Shearman, Head of Campus Services, said: "This new development will make a small, but important contribution to the University's overall target of cutting its carbon emissions by 35% by 2015."

The total installed capacity of 48.88kWp will reduce the University's energy demand taken from the grid and cut its annual carbon footprint by some 16,415 tonnes of CO₂ per year. The installation is part of the University's Clean and Green agenda to cut its energy use and carbon footprint by more than a third by 2015.

The panels were installed in a deal with power company SSE (Scottish & Southern Energy), which paid for the up-front costs of the PV panels and will therefore benefit from Feed In Tariff (FIT) payments. The new arrays will make a significant contribution to the energy requirements of both buildings.

The University is a world leader in education and research into climate change, its effects on people and the environment and how we can all play a role in mitigating it. We all have a responsibility to make a contribution to reduce our impact on the environment. Through schemes such as this the University is showing that we practise what we preach.

Justin Claxton, of SSE Energy Solutions, said: "We are pleased to be able to assist the University with their carbon reduction goals and complete these solar photovoltaic projects. The installations went well and were completed within seven days from initial site set up to producing energy from a renewable source.  We look forward to continuing our work with the University on future energy solution projects."