New solar panels forecast to provide 60% of Blackpool plant’s energy demand
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Dennis Eagle’s Blackpool plant is set to generate around 213,000 kWh of its own renewable power per year, following the recent installation of a 215 kWp Solar PV system. The manufacturing facility consumes around 360,000 kWh of power per annum and now, a large proportion of the total annual electricity demand will come from the sun. The 440 PV panel system was installed in December by Perfect Sense Energy. Based on the current pattern of consumption and working hours (vehicle production runs during the daytime), the site is likely to recoup money in energy and tax savings with further income from exported power to the grid, paying back the installation cost within approximately four years. The solar PV installation is the latest implementation of Dennis Eagle’s focussed sustainability agenda and part of its Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) action plan. ESOS is a government mandatory energy assessment scheme, administered by the Environment Agency.
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“We’ve been working with an external consultant to help us improve our sustainability agenda across the business,” explains Oliver Minett, plant manager at Dennis Eagle’s Blackpool plant. “Blackpool was chosen as the flagship site at which to install our first major solar system because there are no restraints on leases. Another plus is that it has a large south-facing roof – ideal for capturing the rays. I was keen to get solar PV installed and was very pleased with the end-to-end service provided by Perfect Sense, right down to taking the lead on our behalf with the documentation required for connection to the grid.”
“The natural next step for us is to introduce battery storage on site, so that any excess energy generated during peak sunshine hours can be harnessed for use by the factory when needed at other times. That is on the list for the future. Other sustainability projects we’re investigating include a switch to electric forklift trucks. There is a much stronger case for this investment now as the fuel element of their running costs can be reduced thanks to being able to charge them from our on-site solar panels. We’re also reviewing our heating and considering rolling out solar installations at other Dennis Eagle sites,” concludes Oli.
Despite all the issues with the weather in December, the installation was very smooth and there was no disruption to production. The switchover to the site’s self-generated power was indetectable. Day-to-day, Oli and his team can monitor the performance of the new solar PV system from a cloud-based monitoring system accessible on any device.
According to Perfect Sense, investing in a solar PV system like the one at Dennis Eagle is kind is the equivalent of pre-purchasing 4.8 million kWh of power delivered over 25 years for the equivalent cost of approximately 3 pence per kWh. The average cost of buying that from the grid currently is around 20-25 pence/kWh