The sun is shining on Welshpool Printing Group which aims to slash 20 per cent off its electricity bill thanks to a new solar energy system.
iGreen Energy Ltd, based in St Martins, near Oswestry, has installed 181 solar panels on the roof at WPG Ltd on Severn Farm Enterprise Park, Welshpool. The 50 kilowatt system will pay for itself within five years and qualified for a Carbon Trust loan.
The system is projected to produce 42,000 units of electricity a year but in the first month alone it has generated 5,000 units, which augurs well for the future.
iGreen Energy, which is run by Calvin Jones, specialises in providing business and residential customers with practical solutions for reducing energy usage and CO2 emissions, which ultimately save money. The company installs SunEdison solar pv panels, which have a 25-year warranty.
“I chose SunEdison panels because the 25-year warranty is a unique selling point, they are very well made and they also look good on the roof,” explained Calvin.
“The WPG system took a week to install from start to finish and without any disruption to the business. The performance of the system in the first month has far exceeded our projections and the output will increase as the days get longer.
“It’s great news for the company because they will see a reduction in their energy costs over the long term. As a printing company they use a lot of energy and I can envisage a time when they will be asking us to install a bigger system.”
Paul Jones, WPG’s managing director, said he was delighted by the electricity generated in the first month and with the way the project was handled from start to finish.
“The project links in well with our ISO14001 environmental management standard and the business’s quest for continuous improvement,” he added. “For the return on investment, I can’t understand why more businesses don’t install solar systems.”
Calvin is hoping more businesses in Shropshire and Mid Wales like WPG will recognise the value of solar energy and invest in systems on their buildings, particularly as there are attractive finance schemes available.
“There is money available to install and run solar panels for free and companies will sell back the energy to a host business at a lower price,” said Calvin. “It means that a business can have half price energy overnight without any financial outlay and, at the end of 25 years, the system gets gifted to them.
“For those companies that opt to invest in solar pv systems, they will get their money back within five years and they will be making a contribution to saving the planet. We all need to wake up to the fact that climate change is happening and do we want our children to take the brunt of that?”
Calvin can be contacted on Tel: 01691 661964 or visit http://www.igreenenergy.co.uk/ for more information about the company.
