GE looks for an array of solar power options
GUERNSEY ELECTRICITY is looking to the future as it aims to encourage more of the island to invest in renewable energy.
With the installation of a 654-section solar panel array at Guernsey Post – the largest solar array in the Channel Islands – Guernsey Electricity now hopes to encourage more individuals and businesses to take the plunge.
Chief executive of Guernsey Electricity Alan Bates said they wanted to do more.
‘We want to keep rolling this out to more and more individuals and businesses.
‘We announced earlier this year our plans to work with the hospital and the Longue Hougue waste facility and we want to continue this further with more large-scale solar panels on vineries, potentially, and on the roofs of other buildings.
‘The solar PV systems will also feed directly into the island’s network, resulting in all islanders benefitting from an increasing proportion of renewable energy.
‘Here at Guernsey Post, we know there is a 100kW grid parity, any less it would not be sustainable, so making sure that we aim to achieve this elsewhere would help with Guernsey’s exciting future of lower-carbon energy.’
Grid parity is where an alternative energy source can generate power at a cost of electricity (LCOE) that is less than or equal to the price of power from the electricity grid.
Guernsey has committed to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions on 1990 levels by 2050, with the States currently reviewing its energy policy.
The new solar panel array on the roof of Guernsey Post’s headquarters at Envoy House, due to be finished by the end of October, will be approximately 200kW in size and will produce around 200,000 kWh of electricity each year.
The project will help Guernsey Electricity and Guernsey Post reach significant milestones in their ambitions for generation with the use of renewable energy, with the further benefit for Guernsey Post of powering all postal vans to give it an entirely electric delivery fleet.
Guernsey Post chief executive Boley Smillie said by changing the delivery fleet’s fuel use, the company will reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 98%.
‘The aim of this project, along with the many other changes we’ve made in recent years, is the environmental benefit it offers to the community,’ he said.
‘Our investment in electric vehicles resulted in a milestone for us this June with the purchase of electric vehicle number 82, completing our migration from a diesel to an all-electric home delivery fleet.
‘These vehicles are charged here at Envoy House with around 100 miles at a time in them and with 20-40 miles a day used for deliveries, they are very sustainable.’
The sun provides 6,000 times the amount of energy used by humans worldwide and can help companies reduce their carbon footprint.
‘We’re committed as a company to using renewable energy to benefit the community and are keeping our eye on the market and the development of the technology of the future,’ added Mr Smillie.
