Solar array deal for warehouse site
Green energy provider Centrica Business Solutions has agreed a long lease for a solar array on the roof of an aluminium manufacturer’s factory warehouse near Bristol.
By Liza Helps Property Editor Logistics Matters
THE ARRAY consisting of 7,000 solar panels across the rooves of three buildings on Smart Architectural Aluminium’s manufacturing site in Yatton will provide 2.94MW.
An agreement was signed whereby Centrica lease the roof space, finance the project and agree a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Smart for the green electricity produced on-site. The project is set to be completed in the spring of 2024 as the business aims for carbon neutrality across its operations.
Centrica Business Solutions managing director Justin Jacober, said: "The project with Smart Architectural Aluminium represents one of our largest roof top solar arrays to date.
"To be able to finance this deal in a zero-capital way, is an incredibly attractive package for many businesses, who are wrestling with the balance between planet and profit, our message is you don’t need to make it a binary choice, you can do both."
Smart managing director Dean Thomas, added: "Our Net Zero ambitions are at the heart of our growth strategy, and once construction is complete it will be great to know that a huge proportion of our future energy use will be both carbon neutral and affordable."
In August this year a report by construction analysts Barbour ABI estimated that up to 25GW of power could be generated through solar and PV arrays on UK warehouse rooves.
This backed up research by the UKWA in its Solar Powered Portal report out the previous year which stated that by not using warehouse rooves the UK was missing out on some 15GW of solar energy.
This comes at a time when there is growing concern that farmland is being taken up with huge solar panel arrays as the UK faces issues on food security due to unpredictable weather patterns brought about by climate change and geopolitical issues causing disruption to supply chains.
The government’s Solar Taskforce has already highlighted the potential of commercial rooftop solar and has a target of 70GW of solar capacity by 2035.
