During October, the project to install a solar photovoltaic (PV) array on the roof of the Chancellors’ Building was completed. Local company Solarsense UK, based in Bristol, undertook the contract to fit the solar PV panels. The south facing roof mounted array consists of 200 modules, fixed onto an aluminium railing system that covers an area of 516m². Careful design of the array’s layout has ensured that the panels have been placed in the optimum position to achieve maximum output. The new array is the largest in Bath.

The 200 module system has a capacity of 50kWp (Kilowatt peak is the output power achieved by a solar module under full solar radiation), with 100% of the energy produced to be used on site. It is estimated that the annual output from the solar array will be over 42,000kWh (kilowatt hours) but is dependent on factors such as the weather conditions.

The output of the installation means that the University will receive over £5,000 per year through the government’s financial incentive Feed in Tariff (FIT) financial incentive scheme for the production of energy from a renewable source. Combined with this, savings on energy bills are estimated to be a further £5000 per annum, totalling an approximate annual financial benefit of around £10 000. This means that the financial benefits of the system gives a calculated pay-back time of just 6 years and a 16.5% return on the initial investment.

The environmental benefits of generating energy from renewable sources are well known. In the case of this project, it is estimated that a saving of 23 tonnes of CO₂ per year will be made, that means a potential saving of 460 tonnes over a 20 year period.

There are number of energy generating systems at the University including a 24Wp PV array on the East Building which generates around 20,000 kWh of electricity every year. In addition to this there are solar water heating systems on Woodland Court and four Westwood residences, as well as on 4 West.

In addition to this there is a new ‘mini-power station’ combined heat and power unit (CHP) providing hot water and heating for The Chancellors’ Building and The Quads and some 2 million KWhs of electricity for the whole university. The CHP saves around 350 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

This project is part of the on-going work the University is undertaking to ensure that it continually meets the objectives set out in the Environmental Policy regarding effective energy management and minimising carbon emissions.