Camper dealer Erwin Hymer Center Travelworld has installed a solar PV system on the roof to reduce CO2 emissions.
At its flagship sales center in Creswell Park, Stafford, the dealer has installed 300 solar panels in partnership with ECO-1. The panels are expected to generate approximately 85,000 kWh of electricity annually, of which approximately 8,000 kWh will be fed back into the UK electricity grid.
The company has already made major investments in decarbonising its operations, heating the site with a 100% renewable wood pellet combustion system that uses 95% less CO2 per 1,000 kWh of energy than gas heating.
Erik Baxendale, Operations Director of Erwin Hymer Center Travelworld, commented: “The investment in solar energy is in line with our values to reduce our environmental footprint and act against the rising energy costs that have hit all businesses in recent times.
“As a company with a proud legacy of stability and innovation, this is a long-term investment that will have a positive and sustainable impact on both our environmental footprint and overall energy costs for years to come.
“The installation of the panels comes after we invested in electric car charging points for our colleagues and customers, with a fleet of electric commercial vehicles.”
Companies are looking for the sun
Rising energy costs and increasing pressure to decarbonise have driven many UK businesses to adopt solar panels as a dual solution.
Bristan Group, a major manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom products, recently installed 1,666 solar panels at its headquarters in Tamworth, Staffordshire, which are expected to cover around 56% of the site’s power needs. Meanwhile, Marston Brewery has teamed up with Welsh solar start-up Nuvolt to install solar panels at its head office in Cardiff, which can generate 87.73 MWh of energy annually.
Private healthcare provider Spire Healthcare has also moved into solar deployment, recently signing a £5.2 million contract with eEnergy, which will supply a solar PV system across 38 Spire Healthcare sites.
The public sector is also looking to solar energy to save costs. In the latest phase of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which provided £530 million in government funding for energy efficiency improvements, 84 projects received funding for solar panels. Ten of these were NHS trusts, including South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which was given £28 million to install solar panels and air source heat pumps in two of its hospitals. Schools and academies were also awarded millions for their own solar energy projects, as were several London district councils and boroughs.
