ENERGY COSTS at Northamptonshire’s biggest garden centre are set to drop by more than £40,000 per year as investment in solar photovoltaic panels means 75% of its future energy will come from the sun.
Two new solar PV systems have been installed at the Bell Plantation garden centre in Towcester – a total 250 panels delivering a peak generating power of 97 kW.
Spread across the rooftops of the site’s two largest buildings, the solar installation main picture will generate around 85,000kWh of electricity annually, reducing the site’s carbon emissions by more than 25 tonnes per year – the equivalent of taking five petrol cars off the road.
Design and installation of the new energy system was completed by specialist renewable energy provider Geo Green Power as part of an ongoing partnership with Bell Plantation. Geo Green Power has previously installed two solar PV systems, ground source heat pumps and a Biomass Boiler which together heat 94pc of the space on site.
Bell Plantation now generates three quarters of its own energy in an entirely emissions-free way. Managing director Ashley Warren pictured right said: “We started this company because we believe passionately in supporting the great outdoors and want to do our bit to limit climate change. We wanted to reduce our carbon footprint and Geo Green’s renewable energy systems, both the solar and the heat pump, have given us independence and control over our energy supply and usage.
“Now we will be able to reduce both our climate impact and hugely reduce our energy costs. That is massively important to a company like ours which has substantial energy needs.”
Bell Plantation estimates that the capital cost of the solar installation will be repaid within five years, including ongoing maintenance costs, and that its energy bills will be negligible from that point onwards.
“We are now seeing a lot of businesses getting really serious about renewable energy,” said Geo Green Power’s managing director James Cunningham pictured right. “Modern renewable systems have become much more efficient in recent years and at the same time installation costs have reduced.
“The calculations for business have completely changed and renewables make more sense than ever.”
