There is already an existing roof-mounted array on the Braye Vineries site in Route Militaire.
But now an application has been submitted to install arrays on a small area of ground to the north-east side of the site.
Guernsey Clematis general manager Paul Ingrouille said the roof panels were installed in July 2023 and fitted well with how the business operates.
‘We want to use electricity for our machinery and most of our use is during the daytime,’ he said.
Electricity is needed for production machinery like conveyors.
The nursery consumes approximately about 45 MWh per annum in daytime electricity, with about 20 MWh self-generated annually using an existing solar array. The new array is intended to more than double the self-generated output.
‘In terms of energy use for all our machinery, we aim to be self-sufficient or very near that,’ said Mr Ingrouille.
Paul Vaudin, on behalf of the applicants in the planning application, said the proposed solar panel investment was part of the business’s long-term plans.
‘Over the past seven years the company has invested approximately £100,000 per annum on site and equipment upgrades, repairs, and renewals,’ said Mr Vaudin.
‘Sales have maintained good levels having bounced back post-pandemic to above pre-pandemic levels and the “proprietary” new EvisonGuernsey range of Guernsey-bred clematis varieties are now achieving market penetration, resulting in a projected expansion. We trust this demonstrates that the nursery is likely to continue for the foreseeable future by virtue of its sustainability for commercial operations.’
The site uses some oil for heating the propagation zone to 20C during the coldest months of the year. Mr Ingrouille said in the longer term the company was looking to move away from oil and also look at using batteries to store its excess solar-generated electricity.
‘We have been monitoring our carbon footprint for a few years, with the aim of reducing it,’ he said.
The current roof-mounted array was on an office building. Mr Ingrouille said while it had large areas of glass, they could not be used for solar arrays, which was why it had looked at a ground-mounted option.
The proposed site is a small part of the site, which previously had greenhouses on. It will be screened from the road by a hedge.
Mr Ingrouille said if the permission was granted swiftly, the company would look to install the new solar panels before the end of the year.
The site is one of the world’s leading clematis nurseries, with 40 staff, producing two million young plants most of which are exported across the world.
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