Two seaports in South Wales are generating their own electricity after Associated British Ports completed two 250kWp arrays in Cardiff and Swansea.
The solar arrays were designed and installed by Lightsource Renewable Energy under the company’s newly-launched commercial rooftop division.
Matthew Kennerley, ABP director for South Wales explained that the rooftop solar installs formed part of the company’s wider plan to reduce its carbon footprint. The pair of 250kWp solar arrays are estimated to stop 4,260 tonnes of carbon emissions from being emitted over the projects’ lifetimes.
Nick Boyle, Lightsource CEO believes that more companies are turning to solar due to escalating energy costs. He explained: “Running a business is tough and companies across the UK are finding themselves under increasing pressure from higher energy bills. We believe that solar energy presents a viable and flexible solution to the issue by turning unused roof space into a source of clean, renewable electricity.”
Kennerley added that ports could play a wider role as hosts of renewable energy power plants, stating: “We believe ports have a significant role to play in the renewable energy sector and are proud to have invested in this valuable project.”
The government has repeatedly said that it wants to see more solar installs on commercial roofs. However, the Solar Trade Association has called for an “urgent boost” to the feed-in tariff after this month’s degression to the commercial sector despite lacklustre deployment.