Over 540 solar panels were lifted on to the roof of the Mary Arches car park in Exeter, owned by Exeter City Council, by crane. It is the most technologically complex solar solution the company has provided to date. The contract was awarded to SunGift by Exeter City Council following a competitive tender in which the company competed against local, regional and national companies, also involving bespoke design work by the company’s specialists.
Work has now started erecting the frames for the carports and once these are completed the solar panels will be installed, after which additional panels will be lifted on to the roof of the John Lewis car park. Cars that have previously parked in these rooftop spaces have been open to the elements, but once the installations are completed they will be covered by the panels. The project is expected to generate 285,227 kWh per year of free electricity and save more than 150 tonnes of CO2.
“Solar car ports in a situation of this complexity have never been done before in the UK” said solar specialist Gareth Walton from SunGift Energy, “and it’s an exciting move for both us and Exeter City Council. The top floors of the car parks are perfectly placed for making the most of the sun’s free energy, as we’ve been able to optimise the angles of the solar panels on the car park deck. This means that the panels will generate the maximum amount of energy, while providing a benefit to the car parks. It is a great example of where solar can be used to deliver dual benefits and it’s also an indication of where the industry is heading.”
Mr Walton added that the project allowed the company to utilise its broad wealth of experience and knowledge working on specialist projects in order to produce a bespoke system.
Detailed planning and design has been vital as the project incorporates specialist mounting equipment to ensure the structural integrity of the car parks. While multi-story car parks are the perfect location for solar, they also present many potential problems, requiring an extremely high level of technical expertise.
SunGift Energy has been at the forefront of the UK solar PV industry over recent years with projects including a Met Office solar array installed on its energy centre roof which now helps the Met Office supercomputer to run research into climate change. The company also played a part in bringing BenQ 330 watt panels (currently the world’s most efficient panel design) to the UK market and has developed its own 45 kW ‘test array’ for solar panels and inverters at the company’s headquarters in Exeter. The company has carried other installations for Exeter City Council including the Civic Centre, Oakwood House offices, Materials Reclamation Facility, the ARK (the Museum’s storage facility) and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM).
The carport project will use SolarEdge inverters, which will help maximize the power that the solar panels generate and the income that the council receives from the Feed-in Tariff.
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