Clear Storage is the largest single site for storage using containers with 780 containers on the 9 acre site in Skylon Park, Hereford Enterprise Zone. This family business is committed to sustainability so when an opportunity to gain a Business Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) grant covering 70% of the cost of installing a solar PV system, they jumped at the chance to further reduce their carbon footprint.

Solarkinetics came recommended to Ali Goodman, Managing Director at Clear Storage. “Gordon Yule visited on-site and explained to us what was important to the business – the energy savings and pay-back time we can expect with the PV system,” said Ali.

The predicted annual output of 9371kWh powers the electrically operated access gates plus 50 containers with any deficit coming from the grid. Each container has a dehumidifier, light and socket with Kingspan insulation and polished wooden floors to keep the inside free of condensation.

30 x 370W REC Twin Peak 4 panels were mounted on the top of containers nearest the gate, the mounts facing south and ballasted. Two Sunny Boy 5000W inverters plus a Sunny Home Manager were located nearby provided intelligent energy management.

“Installation was quick and efficient, it seemed that no sooner the guys were here, they were finished,” continued Ali.

As testament to their sustainability credentials, Clear Storage are certified Carbon Neutral by One Carbon World and have planted more than 3 miles of native hedgerows around the site, free from annual cutting to support wildlife. The Goodman family who own and run Clear Storage are also nearby farmers, passionate about the environment around them.

No stranger to renewable energy, our client had already overseen the design and installation of a large anaerobic digester plant at his premises and was encouraged by the successful completion and profitable operation of this plant to look at other renewable options suitable for his farm. Court Farm is very local to us and we were approached with a brief to make best use of his rooftop space on two large poultry units by installing solar pv.

The final design of the system was able to fit just over 220kW of panels on the combined roofspace. With larger systems like this one, the work involved is not just installation; there is close liaison required with the district network operator, in this case Western Power and OFGEM (the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) which is responsible for paying feed-in tariff for larger renewable systems of over 50kW. Larger renewable systems can also benefit from negotiating their own Power Purchase Agreements with an energy supplier of their choice and we were able to help look for the best deal for our client here as well.

The work has a fixed timescale in which it has to be carried out due to the time limited nature of the network offer and if this deadline is not met, Western Power can withdraw permission to connect the new system to the national grid.

As the proposed roofs are on working farm buildings, the installation had to be planned around the day to day operations which were ongoing. At certain times whilst the panels were being fitted, the noise levels had to be kept low to avoid stressing the livestock, so it was especially important that our schedule was discussed with the client and farm manager before work commenced to ensure continuity.

The rooftop team did a great job in bringing the work in on time and to our high standards and once the paperwork was approved by OFGEM our client is now benefitting from his reduced bills and increased income.