Our Net Zero Solar Powered Office
We are pleased to be the first office unit on our small industrial estate to be generating more electricity than we can use!
Here at Brightwayz we have had sixteen 425kW solar photovoltaic (PV) panels installed with a 9.5 kw battery storage system.
The installation took five days and was completed by Andy and Seb from local Corby based company GENR8 Energy Ltd. GENR8 director, Jaime Aldaya was excellent throughout the project, having visited for the original quote and then was kind enough to follow up after completion and took drone shots of the installation for us.
Photo: drone shot of solar (image credit Jaime Aldaya / GENR8 Energy Ltd)
After only having the solar for a couple of weeks we have already generated over 100kWh of electricity, which is more than we have been able to use in the office so are also feeding renewable energy back into the grid - does that make us carbon negative?
We are hoping to purchase an electric van in the next 12 months to help with our local projects - many of which involve moving bicycles from A to B. The electricity generated by the solar PV will, of course, mean that fuel costs for a van would be minimal.
Our solar panels and battery were possible thanks to funding secured from North Northamptonshire Council as part of their NN Decarb business grant scheme alongside a Thrive grant from Social Investment Business. We are very grateful to our funders and their excellent admin teams for the support we have had with this.
Even if we had paid for these in full ourselves (and hadn’t received the two grants) we have worked out that the solar panels would have paid for themselves within three years. So that’s good for our business as well as for the environment.
This initiative is a major step forward for our ‘Brightwayz to Net Zer0’ programme of activities.
We are committed to reach Net Zero on or before 2030 and have also recently delivered Carbon Literacy training to all staff members (more on this in a later blog!)
Over the last year we have also made some minor energy efficiency improvements to the office by installing secondary glazing window film, draft proofing our doors and adding 100mm roof insulation above our ceiling tiles.
Here at Brightwayz social enterprise we love to provide information and tips to help you, your colleagues, friends and family travel in safe, active, sustainable ways for everyday journeys.
Our unique range of products is here to help support your active travel campaigns and 100% of profits from sales is ploughed back to support the work we do. Take a look at our range here and find something to help you inspire others to travel in good ways.
Reflector Shop pack
High Vis Child Waistcoat
Brightwayz Bike Bell