Solar plus storage pilot project for Prologis

Photon Energy has recently completed a sizeable solar plus storage installation at one of Prologis’ grade ‘A’ distribution centres, located in Northampton.

This new state-of-the-art £12m development, built by Buckingham Group was completed towards the end of 2018. Lewis & Beddows, a local mechanical and electrical contractor responsible for the building services, awarded Photon Energy the contract to install the solar and storage system. By installing a cluster of batteries alongside the solar array, this pilot project is hoping to see the building’s occupiers being able to use a large percentage of self-generated electricity on site.

Careful consideration went into the design of the 20,000m² building to achieve the maximum level of energy efficiency (a grade A energy performance rating) and this was attained through a number of measures. Passive design elements such as high levels of insulation and airtightness were incorporated alongside the installation of the most energy efficient building services and the 130 kWp solar PV array. Prologis was aiming to create a logistics centre that will benefit from minimal running costs and operational carbon emissions.

The solar PV array installed by Photon Energy was comprised of Trina 270 kWp modules and a stack of 4 Tesla Powerwalls, designed to have a total of 56 kWh capacity. The modules were fixed to the steel trapezoidal roof using a K2 SpeedRail system.

The Solis inverters were positioned in the main office plant deck, with cabling routed to minimise penetrations through the façade.

The solar PV will generate approximately 104,110 kWh of electricity each year for the building’s occupiers, with the batteries ensuring the minimal amount is returned to the national grid. The renewable energy generated should save approximately 54 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per annum.

Lefteris Giraleas, Senior Engineer at Photon Energy said:
“It’s very encouraging to know that all the electricity generated by the solar PV will be used on site to help reduce the operating centre’s carbon emissions.”

Steve Ward, Project Manager at Lewis & Beddows said:
“It was a pleasure working with Photon Energy on this ground-breaking solar plus storage project. Scott was one of the best on site engineers I have worked with and on any further projects I would be requesting his attendance.”

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