A leading North West renewable technology provider is helping Burnley College to improve its carbon footprint and future sustainability at its state of the art £10million sports facility and teaching block.
Shawton Energy has installed a rooftop Solar PV system and a new technology suite at the further education establishment in Lancashire, using products from global leader SolarEdge, which will allow students to learn more about Solar PV and renewable energy.
Comprising three separate solar arrays, the combined 750-module system is forecast to reduce the college’s carbon emissions by 61 tonnes per year and cut its annual electricity bill by £50,000 based on current energy prices. However, total savings over the next ten years could exceed £930,000 when energy price inflation is taken into account.
Managing Director of Shawton Energy Jamie Shaw said: “This system is an opportunity to help Burnley College on its decarbonisation journey. The innovative technology brings substantial added value to the project by providing advanced built-in safety features, reliability, and remote monitoring tools that allow us to create a system we can effectively manage and maintain for many years.
“As part of the commitment to education, we also developed the technology suite to help students learn about the capture, storage and transfer of renewable energy in real time. Additionally, the college’s security hut was transformed into an off-grid system powered by solar and wind to demonstrate the advancement and potential of green energy solutions.”
The sports facility, named Fitness Evolution, provides professional training and recovery experiences to students and elite athletes and features a cryotherapy chamber, environment suite, spa, Elite Athlete gym and much more.
The project, which was delivered alongside Shawton Energy’s trusted partners Green Shield Group, maximises solar energy generation and provides cost-effective maintenance and operation of the solar arrays.
The solution uses SolarEdge Power Optimisers that attach directly to solar modules to maximise the output of each module individually and to provide real-time data on system performance and health.
Jamie added: “As we evolve in a world where renewables are becoming an ever-important addition to the power grid, this project has a wider educational impact than might be obvious. We are partnering with Burnley College and SolarEdge to reduce energy costs and provide tools to educate students about the renewable energy world.
“We are proud to be part of a project with the potential to give students the right education to get a head start on a career in the exciting world of renewables.”
Shawton Energy funded the project through a 25-year PPA agreement, which sees Shawton responsible for the operation and management of the Solar PV system for the project’s lifetime.
Burnley College will buy the electricity generated from the solar modules on their rooftop at a fixed rate of 11.68p/kWh in year one, around 25% of current grid electricity prices.
