BRITAIN'S BUILDINGS GET THEIR PLACE IN THE SUN

10 Mar 2003 12:15 PM

Homes, schools, and leisure centres will soon be able to turn solar energy into electricity, thanks to Government funding announced by Energy Minister Brian Wilson today.

In all 18 building projects in England and Wales have been identified to share £2 million of funding which will enable them to fit photovoltaics - solar panels - to roofs and walls to generate power from sunlight. The projects will have a combined output of 565 kWp, enough to meet the electricity needs of 140 homes.

Brian Wilson said:

"The Energy White Paper delivered clear aims for renewable energy, to achieve our ambition of doubling the share of renewables electricity by 2020 from our 2010 target of 10%.

"These projects will help us achieve that goal. They demonstrate that renewable energy sources can be used in any building from houses to aquariums, anywhere in the country.

"New products and companies are entering the market all the time, and costs are continuing to decline. I'm encouraged by the innovative ideas and products that are helping to harness the power of the sun."

These projects are the third set of proposals approved under the DTI's £20 million Photovoltaic Demonstration Programme, launched a year ago.

The winning projects include:
- Science Museum, London: Up to £88,000 to fit a photovoltaic system into the roof of the East Hall to generate 25kWp.
- The National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth: Up to £117,000 to install a photovoltaic system in the roof that will generate 29.8kWp. - Circle 33 Housing Trust, Cambridge: Up to £68,000 plan to install a PV system into 16 low energy houses.
- Bryhyfryd School, Ruthin, Wales: Up to £104,000 to fit PVs into the roof of a 20 classroom teaching block to generate 28.8 kWp. - The Riding's Housing Association, Potterton, Leeds: Up to £133,000 to install PVs in the roofs of a low cost housing development.

Photovoltaics are cells which generate electricity directly from light and can be incorporated into building products for use as roofing or cladding.

Notes to Editors
1. A list of all the projects is attached at Annex A. Total amounts are subject to final revision.

2. Photovoltaics (PV) systems generate electricity directly from light and may be incorporated into building products for use as roofing or cladding. PV is a form of renewable energy suited to the urban environment requiring no additional land area. They work best in direct sunlight, but also work effectively on cloudy days.

3. Kilowatt peak (kWp) is the maximum output on a sunny day. Under UK conditions, 1kWp of PV cells could be expected to produce around 750kW hours of electricity in a year. The average household uses 3,000-3,500 kW hours a year, a 2kWp system might meet about half their demand.

4. The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Patricia Hewitt, announced £20 million for the first phase of a major PV demonstration programme on 26th March 2002. Prior to this announcement the Government provided £5.4 million which has helped develop 500 solar powered homes and £4.2 million for 18 solar powered buildings through the DTI's domestic and large scale field trials.

5. The bidding process for third round closed on 24 January with 32 applications received. 8 successful projects were announced under the first call for projects under the £20 million fund (Press Notice of 1 August 2002) and 19 were approved under the second round announced on 27 November 2002.

6. The Renewables Obligation is the Government's main plank in its renewable energy policy - a 25-year obligation on licensed electricity suppliers to secure a rising proportion of their sales from eligible renewable sources. Our target is 10% renewables electricity by 2010. The Government announced its proposals for the Renewables Obligation on 5th October 2000 (News release P/2000/667). The final Renewables Obligation was launched on April 2002 . Please see website http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/newprojects/renew_index.htm

7. For further information on the PV Major demonstration programme contact Kelly Butler at the Energy Saving Trust,
Freephone public hotline on 0800 298 3978, website
http://www.solarpvgrants.co.uk.

Public Enquiries: 020-7215 5000
Textphone (for people with hearing impairments): 020-7215 6740 http://www.dti.gov.uk

Annex A.

Eastern:
Circle 33 Housing Trust - Cambourne Village social housing project Cambourne village development will consist of 16 low energy housing units out of a total of 47 new build residential dwellings with the construction process being managed by Circle 33 Housing Trust. The buildings will be constructed using a steel- framed structure with timber cladding and each house will have a 0.96kWp photovoltaic system. Other features will include rain collection in water butts, low energy lighting, passive solar heating with heat exchangers and solar thermal water heating. It is expected that the buildings will achieve a good to very good Ecohomes rating and will provide social housing in the area.
Size: 15.4kWp
Modules: Kyocera KC120-2
Inverter: Fronius Sunrise micro
Location: Cambridge,
Installer: Solar Energy Installations
Grant: £67,816

RSPB - Rye Meads Education Centre, Hertfordshire
The Rye Meads Education Centre, at Stanstead Abbots in Hertfordshire is a new building which has been specifically designed to encourage environmental education in the local community and to nearby urban dwellers. The RSPB has a strong commitment to the disseminate information on clean energy sources and are keen to install photovoltaics on a number of their properties throughout the UK. The photovoltaic system at Rye Meads will be mounted on the roof of the building and will consist of 10.2kWp of monocrystalline modules. Other features of the building include low energy lighting, rainwater harvesting and all the electricity is purchased on a green tariff. Size: 10.2kWp
Modules: BP Solar monocrystalline modules (BP585)
Inverter: SMA
Location: Hertfordshire
Installer: BP Solar Ltd
Grant: £35,585 (subject to revision)

London:
The Science Museum, London - East Hall Exhibition Area
The Science Museum in London is a world-renowned exhibition centre for all types of scientific exploration and applications. A 25kWp photovoltaic system consisting of standard and glass/glass monocrystalline modules will be incorporated into the roof of the East Hall. The East Hall houses an internationally significant collection of early steam engines and is the first hall that visitors come to. A large energy exhibition mainly concentrating on the future of energy supply is planned and the photovoltaic system will be a central feature of this new exhibition area.
Size: 25kWp
Modules: BP Solar monocrystalline modules and glass/glass modules Inverters: Fronius IG30
Location: London
Installer: BP Solar
Grant: £88,075

London Borough of Newham, Westham and Plaistow - Eastlea Community Centre
The Eastlea community resource centre is a new three-storey multi-functional development and will be one of three community centres built to serve the community in the area. Key functions of the centre include a multi-purpose community hall, business start-up units, a nursery, a café, a pharmacy and a public winter garden. The building will be designed to high standards and will incorporate passive solar design, rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing, use of recycled construction materials. Water- to-air heat pumps and ground-source heat pumps will provide space heating.
Size: 12.5kWp
Modules: BP Solar monocrystalline modules
Inverter: SMA
Location: London
Installer: PV Facades Limited
Grant: £54,291

The Environment Trust - Mile End Park tensile canopy above go-karting track The Environment Trust are developing leisure facilities at Mile End Park, these include an environmental centre, ecology park, arts park, terraced garden, an adventure park and a sports centre. Another attraction for the park will be an electric go-karting arena covered by a tensile struture solar canopy. The canopy will provide shelter from rain to keep the course dry and cut down on solar glare. The canopy will also incorporate photovoltaic modules to charge the batteries of the electric go-karts and provide electricity to homes and businesses in the neighbouring area.
Size: 100kWp
Modules: Sanyo HIP-J54BE2
Inverter: SMA
Location: London
Installer: Solar Century
Grant: £318,790

North East:
University of Newcastle upon Tyne - New university building (Devonshire Building)
The Devonshire building is to be a new flagship environmental building adopting the highest standards of sustainable design and will house the Environmental and E- science research institute. A 24.9kWp system will be fitted to the curved roof of the building and will consist of BP585 monocrystalline modules. Other intended features of the low energy design of the building include geothermal heat pumps to provide space heating, heat recovery to minimise heat loss from the building, passive solar design and natural daylighting to minimise the use of electricity in the building and rainwater harvesting. The ventilation system will be of low energy design using displacement ventilation to supplement the use of natural ventilation in the building.
Size: 24.9kWp
Modules: BP Solar 585 monocrystalline modules
Inverter: SMA SB2500 and SMA1700E
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Installer: BP Solar
Grant: £101,021

National Railway Museum, Shildon, Near Durham - New exhibition centre The National Railway Museum is building a new £8 million exhibition centre for its steam locomotion collection next to the Timothy Hackworth museum in County Durham. A 35.3kWp photovoltaic system will be mounted on the roof of the building housing the trains and carriages. The building will be constructed using local stone in a Gabion wall/wire basket construction and the large 6,953m2 roof area will be used to collect rainwater. An onsite wind turbine will also be installed to help provide energy for the building.
Size: 35.3kWp
Modules: BP Solar monocrystalline modules
Location: Shildon, County Durham
Installer: BP Solar
Grant: £111,826

North West:
Blackpool Borough Council - Renovation of derelict solarium (Solaris Centre) Blackpool Borough Council are renovating a derelict sea front solarium to provide a regional centre of excellence for environmental sustainability in the North-West. The design and build of the centre will demonstrate the innovative technology available for sustainable construction and the centre will house the Blackpool Environmental action team and the Lancaster Environment Centre on completion. The 18kWp photovoltaic system will be integrated into the rooflights of the building on the East and West wing and in the main hall/reception area and will consist of special glass/glass monocrystalline modules. Other features of the building will include rainwater harvesting, water conservation and solar water heating. Two urban wind turbines will be situated on the outside of the building and the general aim is to provide a near net-zero emissions building. Size: 18.07kWp
Modules: St Gobain glass/glass modules
Inverter: SMA
Location: Blackpool
Installer: Sundog Energy Limited
Grant: £132,623

South East:
Woking Borough Council - Wesco Court Social Housing
Woking Borough are building the first private wire network incorporating renewable electricity generation and combined heat and power in the UK. The intention of the network will be to provide a sustainable energy service to the Woking area while eliminating transmission and distribution charges levied by electricity generators. The photovoltaic system will be at the site of one of the first public electricity supply systems in the UK in 1890 and will contribute to the Council's tackling fuel poverty strategy. Wesco Court comprises 41 sheltered housing flats. As part of this refurbishment a further system of 37kWp will be installed at Sunnyside site in Woking.
Size: 99.2kWp
Modules: BP Solar 585 monocrystalline
Inverter: Fronius
Location: Woking, London
Installer: BP Solar
Grant: £282,939

Ormiston Wire, Middlesex - Headquarters of Ormiston Wire Ormiston Wire Ltd is a small and medium enterprise employing twelve people in the manufacture of wire for a range of applications including puppets and suspension harnesses. The company has been established for 210 years and in 1991 moved to a new site in Middlesex where they have introduced a large number of energy efficiency measures including the installation of energy efficient light bulbs, high efficiency condensing boilers and plastic skylights. Recently they started sourcing the electricity used on a green tariff and now want to develop their own on-site clean, electricity generation. The photovoltaic system will consist of 10.2kWp of monocrystalline modules mounted on the roof of the building. Further plans include the installation of a 5kW wind turbine to the roof of the building.
Size: 10.2kWp
Modules: BP Solar monocrystalline modules (BP585)
Inverter: SMA
Location: Middlesex
Installer: Ecosol UK Ltd
Grant: £23,121

Borough of Spelthorne, Middlesex - Sunbury Leisure Centre Sunbury Leisure Centre is situated in the grounds of Sunbury Manor School and was built in 1993. The facilities at the centre include a health and fitness suite, badminton courts, a 25-metre swimming pool, solarium and beauty therapy room. As part of an ongoing programme to improve the energy efficiency of their building stock, the Borough of Spelthorne will install a 29.5kWp photovoltaic system on the roof of the leisure centre. The PV roof will be part of a general upgrading of the leisure complex that may also include a heat pump recovery system and a combined heat and power system.
Size: 29.55kWp
Modules: BP Solar monocrystalline modules (BP585)
Inverter: Fronius
Location: Sunbury, Middlesex
Installer: BP Solar
Grant: £78,601

The National Energy Foundation, Milton Keynes - Headquarters of the NEF
The National Energy Foundation are building a new National Energy Centre in Milton Keynes and it is intended that this will be a national centre of excellence for energy efficiency and renewable energy. The new building will house a number of organisations including the energy efficiency accreditation scheme, the solar trade association and the Milton Keynes Energy Agency. Other features of the building include double-layered timber cladding with recycled newspaper insulation, a rainwater recovery system for toilet flushing, solar thermal collectors and a bike shelter.
Size: 9.06kWp
Modules: St Gobain Prosol glass/glass modules
Inverter: Fronius IG30
Location: Milton Keynes
Installer: PV Facades Limited
Grant: £43,355 (subject to revision)

South West
National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth - State of the art aquarium building The National Marine Aquarium at Plymouth is the UK's largest aquarium exhibition area and houses Europe's deepest tank. A 29.8kWp photovoltaic system will be incorporated into the existing rooflights of the building with the purpose of providing solar shading for the moorland stream exhibit hall. Solar shading will reduce the energy required for cooling of this exhibit and the lower internal temperatures will enable the plants to complete their natural growth cycle.
Size: 29.8kWp
Modules: BP solar glass/glass monocrystalline modules
Inverter: Fronius IG40
Location: Plymouth
Installer: BP Solar
Grant: £116,987 (subject to revision)

Bournemouth Borough Council - Bournemouth Exhibition and Leisure Centre
Bournemouth Borough Council is committed to reducing the energy consumption in their building stock. To help develop this policy the project would provide 11.3kWp of monocrystalline photovoltaic modules on the side of the Bournemouth International Centre. The photovoltaic system will consist of glass/glass modules and will have the dual purpose of shading the swimming pool to reduce glare off the swimming pool surface and generating electricity. The BIC is currently supplied with 100% green electricity on a green tariff and energy efficiency measures on the building have reduced gas consumption by 68% and electricity consumption by 23% compared to Centre energy use ten years ago.
Size: 11.3kWp
Modules: BP Solar Bespoke glass/glass modules (140Wp modules) Inverter: SMA inverters
Location: Bournemouth
Installer: BP Solar
Grant: £78,117

St Katherine's School, Bristol - Refurbishment of science block St Katherine's school is an 11-18 comprehensive school on rural countryside beside industrial Avonmouth. The school is currently upgrading its building stock to make it more energy efficient and is also applying for science college status. The photovoltaic system consisting of 5.13kWp of polycrystalline modules will be mounted onto the roof of the science block as part of the upgrade of the roof. St Katherine's aim is to become a leading light school in terms of integrating renewable energy into the fabric of the school and further plans include installing solar water heating, a small wind turbine and heating using biomass.
Size: 5.13kWp
Modules: Photowatt PW1250 polycrystalline modules
Inverter: SMA
Location: Bristol
Installer: Imagination Solar Limited
Grant: £18,200

The Eden Trust, Cornwall - Eden Education Centre
The Eden Trust is well-known for its environmentally-engineered biodomes which provide ideal growing conditions for non-native plants. The Eden Centre is a well- visited tourist attraction that aims to promote understanding and responsible management of the relationship between plants, people and resources. The Eden education centre will be a new building located near to the dry tropics biome. There are further plans to develop the use of solar energy on the site including a ground storage system which will heated by 520m2 of solar thermal collectors.
Size: 84.4kWp
Modules: BP Solar BP5170 monocrystalline modules and monocrystalline glass/glass modules
Inverter: Fronius
Location: Bodelva, Cornwall
Installer: BP Solar
Grant: £299,195 (subject to revision)

Wales:
Denbighshire County Council - New school building in Denbigh, North Wales
Bryhyfryd School is a large secondary school in Ruthin and due to a lack of teaching space a project has been approved to provide a new three storey, twenty classroom teaching block adjoining the end of the school. One of the design aims is to make the building as energy efficient as possible and photovoltaics will be used to help attain this aim. A 28.8kWp photovoltaic system consisting of high efficiency Sanyo HIP modules will be mounted on the roof of the building. The system will be monitored by the pupils as part of their curriculum studies.
Size: 28.8kWp
Modules: Sanyo HIP J54 BE2
Inverter: SMA inverters
Location: Denbigh, North Wales
Installer: Solar Century Limited
Grant: £104,278

Yorkshire and Humberside:
The Riding's Housing Association - Potternewton Housing Estate, Leeds The Riding's Housing Association is regenerating housing sites in the Leeds area. A site on the Potternewton housing estate, previously derelict flats, is being redeveloped to provide a mix of housing totalling twenty properties. The buildings will provide housing for low-income families and will be designed to high levels of energy efficiency. The photovoltaic system will consist of Atlantis sunslates replacing normal roof tiles with systems ranging from 0.74kWp on the small houses to 1.4kWp on the larger houses. Size: 16.22kWp
Modules: Atlantis Sunslates (Polycrystalline rooftiles)
Location: Leeds
Installer: Solar Century
Grant: £133,084

Department of Trade and Industry 1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET Fax 020-7222 4382