Virgin Media are expecting to save over £3,000 a year from the energy costs at its Bristol site following the installation of its first solar PV system.
The 36.2kW array was unveiled as part of the company’s Earth Day 2016 celebrations and is the company’s first onsite renewable energy project.
The 127 panel install is expected to provide almost a quarter of the location’s energy requirement during the summer months. Paul Carr, director of design, build and deployment at Virgin Media, said solar is well suited to the specific requirements of the Virgin Media office.
“We’re expecting to produce more power in the summer months, nearly 25% of the site’s energy requirement, which is when our sites consume greater amounts of energy, as our cooling systems need to work hard to keep the technical rooms at the right operating temperature. However, the panels will allow us to produce renewable energy onsite throughout the year,” he said.
The installation is expected to save the company from purchasing over 34MWh of electricity annually, equivalent to more than £60,000 in energy costs during the 20-year lifetime of the system.
Carr added: “I’m personally excited about monitoring its performance and learning about the potential for rolling it out to other sites in our estate
“It’s a great project and I hope its success as our first solar PV pilot will enable us to install other green energy systems as part of our Lower Impact 2020 sustainability goal.”
The Lower Impact 2020 plan sets out Virgin Media’s pledge to not increase its total carbon footprint from a 2014 baseline. It plans to do this by investing in the energy efficiency of its network, increasing the fuel-efficiency of its fleet and further explore on-site renewable technology.