Solar panel installation completed at Northacre RRC

Wiltshire Council installs solar panel system to help convert household waste into solid recovered fuel

WORK to install the largest single-roof local authority-owned solar panel system in the UK on the roof of the new Northacre Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) in Westbury, Wiltshire, has been completed.

The 1,248 solar panels – covering an area equivalent to more than seven tennis courts – will generate in excess of 280,500kWh of electricity each year, all of which will be consumed on site at Northacre RRC, helping to power the mechanical-biological treatment process used to turn household waste into solid recovered fuel (SRF) instead of being sent to landfill.

The benefits of the solar panel system to Wiltshire Council are significant, with annual bill savings and income from the Feed-in Tariff of more than £55,000, as well as a 148-tonne reduction in CO2 emissions annually. Over 20 years the benefits are expected to exceed £1.5 million, and more than 2,720 tonnes of CO2 emissions will be avoided.

Crucially for a plant such as Northacre RRC with a high energy requirement, the unit price of electricity produced by the panels over the system’s 25-year life is significantly less than the current rate for grid-supplied electricity.

Toby Sturgis, cabinet member for waste, said: ‘As a council we are committed to finding sustainable solutions to our energy requirements as well as cutting costs where possible so more can be spent on front-line services. This is an ideal opportunity to use renewable energy to power a site which uses innovative technology and I’m delighted that we are leading the way in doing this.’

David Snape, commercial manager at Solarsense, the company responsible for the design and installation of the system, said: ‘The Northacre RRC project is a great example of how solar PV can significantly reduce consumption and deliver long-term cost savings for industrial processes. As the developer of the largest single-roof local authority-owned solar panel installation in the UK, Wiltshire Council is making a very clear long-term commitment to carbon reduction and sustainability, as well as a very sound investment which will benefit the county.’

Mike Webster, group director for Hills Waste Solutions, the company that owns and operates Northacre RRC under a 25-year contract with Wiltshire Council, said: ‘Investing in energy security is an important step and we are pleased to have been involved in the procurement process with the Council. The next step for Hills will be to look at securing more local solutions for the solid recovered fuel (SRF), ideally to generate energy which could be utilized in Wiltshire.’

At present, the SRF from Northacre RRC is sent to energy-from-waste facilities in other northern European countries.