Independent solar and battery storage installer Sopoco has supplied a 1.1MW battery energy storage system (BESS) installation for aviation company AJW Group in West Sussex.
Worthing-based Sopoco installed five 229 kWh Sungrow PowerStack units at the facility, which it says is the “largest power stack battery installation in Britain to date”. The BESS will store and dissipate energy generated by an on-site solar system.
AJW Group, which provides aviation maintenance and repair, requires 24-hour operations and has significant energy demand. In 2024, the company installed a rooftop PV system, generating 800,000 kWh annually, accounting for 55% of AJW’s UK business.
According to Sopoco managing director David Cracknell: “AJW already had a significant number of solar panels, but without storage they were exporting large amounts of clean energy during the day and relying on the grid at night. Battery storage was the logical next step.”
The Sungrow PowerStack system combines battery racks, liquid cooling technology, energy management and integrated fire safety systems within one unit. Five such units were deployed at AJW, working as one intelligent energy storage system.
Sopoco had to work with renewable energy distributor Alternergy to properly size the battery system as export data was not available for the existing solar panels.
Alternergy provided half-hourly consumption data, figures on solar energy generation and tariff information. Sopoco then used Orkestra’s financial modeling platform to conclude that 1.1 MW was the optimal size.
According to Sopoco, the system will recoup its costs within five years. AJW Estates and HSE director Ashley Hedger said the group’s electricity costs have “fallen noticeably” and the company has “significantly improved” its energy resilience.
Speaking at the Summit on Procurement and Revenue from Renewable Energy Sourcesheld in London last week by Solar energy portal Solar Media publisher Claire Thornhill, director of economic consultancy Frontier Economics, pointed out that Britain is currently struggling with “really high” energy prices, especially for industry.
Renewable generation is one way companies can gain more control over their operating costs, even as energy prices fluctuate. “To have an active hedging strategy is important, especially in times like these” explains Yassine Bounajma, category sourcing manager for global industrial suppliers at Philips.
Other coverage of the event talked about the political prospects in Britain and knowledge sharing effective energy purchasing.
As part of its target to install up to 47 GW of solar capacity in Britain by 2030, the government aims to increase solar capacity on the country’s rooftops to 10 GW. Solar Media’s Clean Power 2030 Summit, which incorporates the UK Solar Summit, will have an entire content stream dedicated to rooftop deployments and C&I.
Daniel Levene, director and co-founder of commercial solar financier, developer and consultancy Two Blues Solar, who will participate in the panel discussion ‘The real barriers to rooftop solar: insurance, fire safety and contracts‘ spoke recently Solar energy portal about the obstacles to rapid deployment.
View the full agenda And buy tickets to attend the CP2030 summit on the event website. Our readers can get a 20% discount on tickets with the code SPP20.
