One of London’s most prominent skyscrapers, the ‘Walkie Talkie’ building at 20 Fenchurch Street, is generating its own electricity thanks to a 50kWp solar array installed by Nottingham-based solar installer, EvoEnergy.
The solar array consists of 250 x 200W modules installed on top of the 38-storey building. EvoEnergy claims that the solar array is one of the UK’s highest solar installations.
Due to the challenging nature of the install, EvoEnergy elected to install a completely rail-less system on the building’s glass roof. The array’s inverters are located three floors below the modules.
EvoEnergy used a specially trained team of four solar installers to carry out the project. The nature of the installation site meant that rope access techniques were mandatory in order to access the site. In addition, all personnel and equipment had to be physically tethered to the building at all times. Each of the modules had to be fixed to the roof individually using four twisting, movable jigs.
In order to connect the modules to the inverters, EvoEnergy had to deploy more than 90 metres of cabling. The amount of cable required meant that the installer had to use thicker DC cable to protect against losses.
Commenting on the project, EvoEnergy’s commercial project manager, James Sutton said: “This has been a unique and challenging project, from the design stage through to project management, logistics, risk assessment and completion.
“We knew that delivering a rail-less system at that height would be a challenge, but we were confident that we could create the kind of bespoke solution to deliver it, of course also taking every necessary safety precaution along the way. The finished solar system, sitting high above the building’s stunning Sky Garden, looks fantastic. It’s been a job well done by the whole team from start to finish.”