News

Eco2Solar inspires greener lives

Back to school: The Northfield Ecocentre, Birmingham will use its solar array as a community educational resource
Midlands PV installer Eco2Solar is helping inspire local people to lead greener lives with its latest solar installation at Northfield Ecocentre.

The Kidderminster-based company has donated its time for free to work with the Birmingham charity and help reduce carbon emissions at its community Ecocentre.

The installation will be used as an educational resource within the community to show residents how they can use solar technology to reduce their carbon footprint and work together to protect the environment.

The project involved the installation of one pitched-roof and one flat-roof solar systems.

The pitched-roof comprises of six Schuco 190-MS-05 190 watt panels and one SMA Sunnyboy 12000 inverter donated by builders merchant, E H Smith. To complement this, Eco2Solar also installed one Solion Sunmount flat-roof solar system with five REC 240-PE 240 watt panels and one SMA Sunnyboy 1200 inverter.

Both systems are expected to produce more than 1,923kWh of clean energy every year and save over 3,527kg of carbon annually – the equivalent of a small family car’s annual journey (10,000 miles).

Electricity generated will be used on site, helping the centre to cut carbon emissions and reduce energy costs. The money saved will be invested in the many community projects run by the centre, includingNorthfield’s Orchards which aims to plant 1,400 trees by spring 2013.

Owned by The Central England Area Quaker Meeting, Northfield Ecocentre is expected to generate £404 in tax-free income from the Government-backed Feed in Tariff (FIT) scheme.

“This is an exciting time for Northfield Ecocentre,” said Georgia Stokes, manager of Northfield Ecocentre.

She added: “As part of our role, it is vital we continue to advise residents on the most up-to-date energy saving technologies and activities available.

“The Ecocentre is working towards becoming a zero carbon organisation. By creating our own renewable energy using solar panels, we can now actually demonstrate our own savings first hand at our centre.

“We are extremely pleased with the installation by Eco2Solar and the donation of panels from E H Smith, and even more grateful for their support in making this possible.”

Launched in March 2009, Northfield Ecocentre offers practical and inspiring ideas and advice to local residents on adopting a greener lifestyle. It is open for the public to view the panels Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 5pm.

“It has been a pleasure to be involved in such a fantastic project and help Northfield Ecocentre not only generate its own renewable energy but also champion solar power within the local community,” said Paul Hutchens, managing director of Eco2Solar.

“The installation will make a great educational resource for visitors to see first hand the important role renewable energy can play within the local environment in lowering carbon emissions and generating renewable energy.”

Return to emailshot http://www.andpublishing.co.uk/www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk/news/