Shell Store, Hereford Enterprise Zone

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Shell Store, Hereford Enterprise Zone

Shell Store Hereford solar
Shell Store Hereford inverter
shell store roofers

 

System Size 78.7 kWp
Generation 69,352 kWh
Solar Panels 246 x 320W REC Twin 2
Inverter 1 x SolarEdge 82.8kW three-phase Synergy
Mounting Sunfixing

When Hereford Enterprise Zone Ltd in conjunction with Herefordshire Council decided to rebuild the former Munitions Building in Rotherwas, Hereford, as a nod to its unique history, the emphasis was on build sustainability. The resulting building is the Shell Store, an incubator and business networking  centre in Skylon Park, Hereford Enterprise Zone that helps start-ups and growing businesses with office space and support services.

Rotherwas was home to one of the largest explosive filling sites in the UK during the First World War and again was active in the Second World War. The aptly named Shell Store is one of the last surviving buildings of the 370 buildings that existed over the 300-acre site.

Melcon was the electrical contractor in the rebuild and Solarkinetics secured the solar PV installation work after a robust procurement process. The sawtooth roof of the Shell Store brings natural light into the building on the north facing predominantly glass elevations while solar panels were installed on the south facing elevations of the metal clad roof.

246 x 320Wp REC Twin Peak 2 solar modules were fitted to the Euroclad roof using Sunfixing mountings. Power Optimisation boosts power output by enabling a pair of modules to work independently to produce maximum power, despite shading on one panel pair that would otherwise reduce the output of all panels in the same string. The inverter chosen was a SolarEdge 82.8kW three-phase Synergy inverter, installed in the plant room.

The building provides a flexible workspace offering co-working, office space and meeting rooms for freelancers, start-ups and small businesses. Around 30 of the rental offices are occupied and in the centre of the building is the Munitions Café, a great place for networking. 

Since the solar PV system was switched on in 2021, it has generated 124MWh of electricity with 98% of power produced being consumed onsite. Depending on the time of year, overall solar power generation contributes 25-30% of the power requirement in the building.

“Herefordshire Council saw this project as a chance to show leadership in sustainability and the installation of the solar PV system was an important part of the jigsaw to achieving this,” said David Wright, Head of Economy and Regeneration at Herefordshire Council. “Solar generated power is making a valuable contribution to reduce our electricity costs in the building.”

Tony, Worcestershire

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Tony, Worcestershire

Ground mount solar worcestershire
System Size 11.1 kWp
Generation 9,383 kWh
Solar Panels 30 x 370Wp REC Twin Peak 4
Inverter 1 x SolarEdge 10kW single phase
Battery 2 x SolarEdge Energy Bank 10kW

Our client’s path to solar starts from an usual position – with the purchase of an electric vehicle. We suspect this story will be repeated time and time again as sales of EVs increase.

Wishing to fuel the car for free, Tony looked at how much solar pv would be needed and asked Solarkinetics to advise. “I have an older property with dormer windows so instead of installing the solar on my roof, I wanted to have the PV ground mounted in a field adjacent to the house. This required planning permission, and thankfully Solarkinetics helped and guided me through the planning process.

In 2021, Solarkinetics installed 30 x 370Wp REC Twin Peak 4 solar modules on a ground mount nearby with a SolarEdge 10kW single phase inverter and a SolarEdge Smart Energy 3kW Hot Water heater in the house.

Tony’s main motivation is to do the right thing for the planet, reducing his carbon footprint but also for it to make financial sense. With this installation, our client can charge the car, heat water, provide power for house load and export back to the grid.

Then a year later, 2 x 10kWh SolarEdge Energy Bank batteries were added. Tony says “These were transformative” – he estimates the pay-back time has reduced from around 8 to 5 years.

Here’s why. Not only can the batteries store excess power, for use in the evenings, they can also store imported power overnight. On the Intelligent Octopus Go tariff electricity costs 7.5p/kWh over a 6-hour window, while exporting during the day is 15p/kWh. “I can charge the car, heat water and store power during the night and then maximise export from the panels and battery the following day.

The batteries also provide additional financial benefit and help to balance national grid loading through being able to participate in the National Grid’s Demand Flexibility Service (DFS) – this can be achieved by joining Octopus Energy’s ‘Savings Sessions’ or through SolarEdge’s own scheme.

Wishing to significantly reduce oil consumption for heating the house, our client is now seeking to install an air source heat pump to heat frequently used rooms in the winter. This will require additional solar, battery and the SolarEdge Home Hub inverter to provide back-up functionality in the case of a power cut.

Ledbury, Herefordshire

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Ledbury, Herefordshire

Ledbury Leadon Way solar domestic
Ledbury Leadon Way solar on house roof
System Size 5.1 kWp
Generation 4,231 kWh
Solar Panels 14 x 365W REC Twin Peak 4
Inverter 1 x SolarEdge 5kW single phase
Battery 1 x SolarEdge Energy Bank 10kWh

When our client moved into a new build off Leadon Way, Ledbury, he saw the potential of using the south facing roof on the house for solar panels. “I wanted to make a good eco friendly investment and realised that solar panels could also bring long term savings on our electricity bill,” said Martin.

Our client chose Solarkinetics preferring to use a local solar installer rather than a national one and could see from the customer reviews, home owners were very satisfied with the service they had received from this family owned company.

“I found the team at Solakinetics friendly and polite, there wasn’t any hint of a hard sell. They were patient and informative in answering my many questions!” continued Martin. “I wanted solar panels that were reliable sourced and not made in a factory where child labour is prevalent.”

In spring 2023, Solarkinetics installed 14 x 365Wp REC Twin Peak 4 black solar panels, 1 x 10kWh SolarEdge Energy Bank battery and 1 x SolarEdge 5kW single phase inverter. Martin finds the battery provides ‘free’ power to use on days when it’s cloudy or raining and solar charging is reduced.

“We are selling power back to British Gas and our monthly electricity changes have decrease dramatically. Before we have the solar installed our monthly costs were in excess of £75, now the charges are around £30 and we’re getting £100+ back every 3 months from British Gas,” said Martin.

The installation proceeded on the day promised, with the work carried out without fuss and everything left in a clean and tidy manner on completion. “We love the installation,” concluded Martin. “With the app we can monitor usage and battery storage allowing us to utilise stored battery power on days when solar generated power is not so high.”

The Courtyard, Hereford

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The Courtyard, Hereford

The Courtyard Hereford solar PV on roof
Withington Village Hall, Herefordshire
The Courtyard arts centre Hereford

 

System Size 61 kWp
Generation 50,616 kWh
Solar Panels 120 x 250W REC Peak Energy (2015), 84 x 370W REC Twin Peak 4 (2022)
Inverter 1 x Sunny Tripower 15kW 3 phase (2015), 1 x SolarEdge 30kW 3 phase (2022)
Mounting Van der Valk

The Courtyard in Hereford is a multi-arts centre with Café and restaurant that welcomes 350,000 plus visitors each year. Its large flat roof is the perfect space to install solar without affected the visual appeal of the large glass fronted building.

The Courtyard started its solar journey in 2015 when Solarkinetics installed 30kWp of solar on two of the higher flat roof areas, generating 10% of its total electricity consumption. The system comprised 120 x REC 250W Peak Energy solar panels with a Sunny Tripower 15kW 3 phase inverter.

Then in 2019, The Courtyard joined forces with other arts and cultural organisations in the UK and Herefordshire Council to declare a Climate and Ecological Emergency. Since then, it’s been on a path to not only reduce its carbon emissions but also its consumption to sustainable levels and encourage others to do so.

“Our motivation for installing solar is to reduce our carbon footprint and also to save costs as our electricity bill is rather large,” said Phillip Pearcy, Head of Operations at The Courtyard. “In 2022, we installed an additional 31kWp of solar bringing the consumption of 300,000kWh per year down to 240,000kWh.”

Now, both solar installations contribute 20% to the electricity requirement in the building.

The 2022 installation comprised 84 x 370Wp REC Twin Peak 4 solar panels installed on the main flat roof space plus 1 x SolarEdge 30kW 3 phase inverter. The break even for the second installation is forecast to be in 2027, just 5 years.

The second solar project went out to competitive tender and Solarkinetics won, helped by a positive experience with the first solar installation in 2015. “It’s great to support a family business and a local contractor, at that,” continued Phillip. “The installation was hassle free and we found the Solarkinetics team friendly and knowledgeable with a “can do” attitude which was much appreciated.”

The second 31kW of solar was installed with part funded by the EU European Regional Development Fund and match funded by Theatres Trust.

St Michael’s Hospice, Herefordshire

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St Michael’s Hospice, Herefordshire

St Michaels Hospice Herefordshire
St Michaels Hospice curved roof with solar panels
St Michaels Hospice Herefordshire view from garden
System Size 29.7kWp
Generation 26,713kWh
Solar Panels 110 x 270W REC Peak Energy
Inverter 1 x SolarEdge 27.6kW 3 phase
Mounting Schletter

Since 1984, St Michael’s Hospice has supported Herefordshire providing palliative and respite care for people with terminal illness and those closest to them.

One of their key goals is to be a sustainable organisation and over the years the buildings have grown and been redeveloped. The newest part of the hospice was opened in 2015: designed by local firm of Architects, Architype, it was chosen as one of the six winners in the 2017 RIBA West Midlands awards. The Project architect, Paul Neep, received the RIBA Project Architect of the Year Award.

The hospice uses a lot of energy in its buildings year-round and has installed charge points for electric vehicles as many of the nurses operating from the site are now carrying out home visits in company electric vehicles.

So, for Solarkinetics, the challenge was to install a solar PV system to provide the green energy required by the organisation which enhanced the lovely curved roof of the refurbished building.

Technically this presented quite a challenge as the main roof area considered most suitable was not only pitched, quite normal, but also curved, so the combination of which is most unusual, if not unique! It was certainly a first for us.

The design we came up with was able to maximise this space with careful planning at the design stage and when the work was carried out in April 2018, all went to plan. The only hold-ups were a day abandoned due to rain, as the install seemed to take place in one of the wettest weeks of an already wet Spring.

Everything is now up and running and the SolarEdge monitoring portal enables the hospice team to see every day how much they are saving by generating a significant part of their own electricity.

In 2018 Solarkinetics were thrilled to win the REC Installation of the Year award for the St Michael’s Hospice installation.

2024 Update:

Since the solar was installed in 2018, the amount of electricity generated and with it the income received through the Feed in Tariff (FiT) has exceeded the hospice’s expectations.

“We have been delighted with our solar installation, in addition to performing perfectly, it really enhances the building which is an usual thing to say about solar panels,” commented Mike Keel, Chief Executive, St Michael’s Hospice.

“We especially like the app that allows us to see what’s going on and how the system is performing. We would definitely use Solarkinetics again if we ever need more panels.”