Renewables developer Dulas has completed the second phase of work to install a 2.5MW project at a water treatment facility in Wrexham, Wales.
The firm had already installed nearly 8,000 solar panels at Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water’s Five Fords facility but worked over December to complete the second and final phase, which saw it add a further 2,100 panels.
The array is located on poor quality land described by Welsh Water as offering no further commercial benefits, with generated electricity to contribute towards the company’s carbon reduction targets.
Welsh Water intends to reduce its carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2032 and Mike Pedley, head of energy at the firm, said it was “no secret” that traditional water treatment facilities were energy intensive operations.
“So at Five Fords we are creating an innovative energy park that will maximise the sustainability of the plant. With these 10,000 panels now fully operational, Dulas has delivered one of the key components of that energy park vision and it has been good to work with a partner that understood our goals and our culture as a not-for-profit organisation,” Pedley added.
Whilst a number of businesses in the UK have voluntarily agreed to reduce their emissions the Environment Agency’s Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) states that all companies in the UK fitting specific eligibility criteria must monitor their energy consumption and make allowances to reduce it.
“As UK utility firms come under increasing pressure to optimise energy use, reduce their carbon footprint and comply with increasingly stringent government regulation, it’s apparent that, for many operational sites, it’s no longer business as usual,” Alistair Marsden, commercial director at Dulas, said.