Photon install 384 kWp of SunPower for Cambridge University

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The first phase of building of the University of Cambridge’s new development has now been completed and features 384 kWp of solar Photovoltaic (PV), installed by Photon Energy, mounted on nine apartment blocks.

The North West Cambridge development, receiving funding from University of Cambridge, is being built in a number of phases and will provide up to 3,000 new homes and community facilities to help overcome problems with overcrowding and rising land prices in the city. The University is hoping the affordable housing will help it retain the best researchers and staff, ensuring it can maintain its status as a leading global academic and research institution.

Photon Energy won the tender from main contractor Wates to install 384.23 kWp of solar PV at Lot 2 of the development, comprised of key worker units, local shops and a café, positioned around a market square.

This development has been carefully created with sustainability in mind. The apartments have been built to the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5 and contain a number of features including triple layers of insulation, brown roofs and a district heating system, as well as the solar PV arrays generating clean energy for each of the homes.

The solar PV arrays had to be designed by Photon to fit in with various elements on the roofs of the apartment buildings. These included the ‘brown roof’ areas covered with soil and sections that were laid with pebbles, to ease flooding and to improve insulation.

This largescale project took place over two years and required excellent project management to work around all the other trades on site and to deal with the restrictions that were placed on roof access.

Due to the limitations with roof space, SunPower 327 PV modules were chosen to ensure the maximum possible output, with a total of 1,175 being installed. The modules were fixed to a K2 Systems D-Dome mounting system, ideally suited to flat roofs, and then connected to Zeversolar inverters.

The solar PV will generate approximately 262,355 kWh of electricity each year for the local residents and save 136 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

Lefteris Giraleas, Senior Engineer at Photon Energy said: “This was a challenging project, requiring coordination with the many other trades working on site at the same time. We worked well with the team at Wates, ensuring the installation went as smoothly as possible and was completed on time.”

Adrian Wells, Project Manager at Wates said: “Photon Energy successfully rose to the challenge of designing the solar PV arrays and installing them on the limited roof space. The brown roof and pebbled areas created obstacles that had to be worked around and in addition, they had to coordinate with many other tradesman working in the roof areas. The installation was carried out to a high standard across the development.”

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Residential SolarPhoton EnergyNW Cambridge, SunPower, University of Cambridge