Latest News: Installations Norfolk Business Park Cuts Costs with Solar Photovoltaics


It‟s a positive start to the New Year for Rookery Business Park in Attleborough, Norfolk. The privately run industrial park has had solar photovoltaics installed across its properties, to help reduce its electricity costs.


This is one of the largest commercial solar projects of its kind in Norfolk and electricity generated will be sold to tenants at a reduced rate, saving each £100‟s a year.


The site is home to a variety of businesses from the Norfolk Academy of Gymnastics to a Tesla electric sports car showroom. The 15 solar roofs, funded by Clydesdale Bank and installed by Solarcentury, are anticipated to generate an average of 21,000 units of electricity a year for each business. The 278kWp of solar photovoltaics installed is due to generate 236,300 units of electricity a year for the site.


Philip Frost, Managing Director, Rookery Business Park said: “Here at Rookery Business Park, we‟ve invested in solar because we want to bring electricity costs down for our business tenants and attract further tenants in the future. We believe the price of electricity from the grid is only set to rise, so solar can reduce the burden of bills on businesses in a time when there are cost reduction pressures for us all.


“We‟re building seven new industrial units, which have been designed with a south facing roof to accommodate solar – maximising the electricity we can get from our properties. We think businesses will increasingly be looking to reduce their energy costs.”


The solar project was commissioned before Christmas, to ensure the property owners received the highest Feed-in tariff (FIT). The park‟s FIT is provided by the UK‟s only 100% renewable electricity supplier Good Energy, who will also purchase any exported electricity. Determined to create a cleaner, more efficient site Rookery Business Park is investing in more solar power on a new building, currently under construction for March 2012.


Derry Newman, CEO, Solarcentury added: “Industrial buildings like these at Rookery Business Park are ideal spaces for solar, it‟s incredibly pleasing to see it being deployed in this way. As energy costs increase, we‟re confident many other private companies will look at upgrading their buildings similarly. Not only does solar reduce energy costs for tenants, but it provides a distinctive selling point for property owners. Congratulations to Rookery Business Park, Savills, Clydesdale Bank and all involved in the project making this happen before the Government‟s Feed-in tariff changes.”


David Grindley, Director, Savills Norwich, said: “On the face of it, the project management of the scheme at Rookery Business Park appeared straightforward but it turned out to be quite a complicated, challenging and ultimately rewarding project. The deadline of 12th December 2011 was a focal point for everybody‟s efforts and it shows that with good quality companies involved what can be achieved. This was a fantastic team effort from Solarcentury, Clydesdale Bank and Savills in delivering this project.”


Juliet Davenport, CEO, Good Energy added: “Good Energy believes decentralised energy, where power is generated at home and in communities, has the potential to free the UK from our dependence on imported fossil fuels and deliver greater price stability which will boost long-term economic growth. Projects such as Rookery Business Park demonstrate how businesses can take control of their own energy while making the best use of their buildings to generate clean, green, renewable electricity.”


Andrew Pike, Managing Partner at Clydesdale Bank‟s Financial Solutions Centres in East Anglia, said: “We were delighted to help the Rookery Business Park to fund this fantastic project, which will really benefit the businesses on the estate. We hold a very traditional banking approach, this project a testament to our ability to work together with other professionals to achieve an excellent outcome for our customers.”


The Sun Lights up Ecotricity’s HQ


A Gloucestershire green energy company is practising what it preaches - installing Stroud‟s largest array of sun-capturing solar panels on the roof of its headquarters – just beating the deadline when the Government cut Feed-In-Tariff rates.


Ecotricity has installed 150 panels which cover 500 square metres of the Unicorn House building in the centre of Stroud – providing enough renewable energy to power more than 10% of our operations – which includes a new low-energy data centre.


Installation of the frames and panels only took around a week, and they will stay in place for the next 25 years. The panels are a type specifically designed to work in the less sunny conditions us Britons' are used to; they require little or no maintenance and can simply be removed at the end of their natural life and almost completely recycled. Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, said:“All the green energy we use in our buildings up until now has been made by our windmills. But now, a good chunk will be made right here, from the sunlight hitting the roof above our heads.”


For all the most up to date news and products visit www.solardigest.co.uk January 2012 Page 7


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