HBS New Energies lands Welsh Water contract to continue solar push

HBS New Energies has been appointed as one of the principle PV contractors for the installation of solar across 21 Welsh Water sites.

The partnership comes as part of the second phase of Welsh Water’s Glas Advantage Renewable Energy Programme, which will see a combination of rooftop, floating and ground mounted solar installed.

It follows a competitive tender process, with HBS securing two lots from a possible four on the two-year framework.

Other contractors appointed to the framework include Centrica, Anesco and Absolute Solar & Wind. 

The rooftop and ground mounted systems have a total capacity of 3.4MWp and will vary in size from 50kWp to 1MWp.

HBS will be managing all aspects of design, development, supply, construction and operation and maintenance of the installations.

The installer previously partnered Welsh Water for the installation of solar across five sites as part of phase one. Welsh Water already has 6MW of solar assets, contributing to its annual energy consumption of 460GWh.

The new installs are set to make significant progress inroads to achieving its 30% on-site renewable energy generation target by the end of 2019.

James Bull, managing director at HBS New Energies, said the appointment continues HBS’ strategy of working alongside “forward-thinking” UK water utilities.

“With firm aims to become more self-sufficient in its energy generation, this significant deployment of on-site solar projects will play a key role in helping Welsh Water take control of energy costs and move closer to achieving its carbon reduction target,” he added.