Eco Environments has been selected by Wigan-based Armstrong Point to install a range of renewable energy technologies at the UK’s first zero energy-cost business park. The £2.7 million development will include the installation of 90kWp of solar PV, a 6kW wind turbine, nine solar thermal hot water systems and nine heat pumps.
Located on the old Britvic site at Swan Lane, Hindley Green, the project, which has been aided by European Regional Development Fund money, will see the construction of nine business units where tenants will not have to pay any energy costs.
All of the business units will have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of A+ as well as being only one of a handful of developments in the world to boast a BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) Outstanding rating.
Dave Armstrong, whose company Armstrong Properties is behind the development, said: “Eco Environments was chosen to install multiple renewable energy technologies after a rigorous selection process.
“We are proud to be developing the UK’s first zero energy cost business park and to be harnessing some of the most advanced renewable energy solutions as part of that process.
“We have estimated that by moving to Armstrong Point tenants will save an average of £2 per sq ft on their rent because they will have zero energy costs.”
David Hunt, a Director with Eco Environments, said: “This is a ground-breaking and innovative project not just in the North West but in the whole of the UK.
“We have been working closely with Armstrong Properties and Carbon Consultancy Company on this project for some time and it is hugely exciting that this unique development is nearing completion.
“We are finding that an increasing number of commercial customers are keen to talk to us not about one type of technology but about ways in which they can maximise their energy savings by installing different types of renewable energy and energy efficiency technology.”
The business park will create up to 70 new jobs on top of the 55 construction jobs while the site is being developed. The scheme is due to for completion in September.