Langford Solar Farm Welcomes Students and New Employees
It was an absolute pleasure to once again welcome students from City, University of London and St George’s, as well as new members of our own team, to our Langford Solar Farm in Bedfordshire. Our guests were given a tour of the solar farm, learning about solar technology, renewable energy, and how this positively impacts the UK’s journey to a net zero future.
This is the second year we’ve hosted a visit for City, University of London and St George’s students and we are delighted to continue to inspire the next generation of renewable professionals as part of our ongoing corporate education programme.
The 13MW ground-mount solar farm generates enough energy to power up to 5,000 homes annually.
For more information on our site visit, please visit here
Top November Article!
IGD, the Institute of Grocery Distribution, recently released a report titled ‘ A Net Zero Transition plan for the UK Food System’, providing a framework for the food sector to achieve a reduction of 70% in emissions. The Report provides evidence how the UK food system can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the UK’s legally binding national target.
Outlined is a 19 step plan that the Government can take to reduce emissions, with a particular focus on strengthening policy for agriculture and energy. An immediate action the report proposes to be taken by industry and government is to support the domestic farming transition. The report highlights the critical role reductions on food waste can make on reducing emissions.
Link to the article and report
What Exactly is Net Zero and How is the UK Actually Doing?
Net Zero is balancing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by no longer adding to what’s already there. Until the global use of fossil fuels has depleted, there might not be a choice but to emit some greenhouse, but to achieve net zero you will have to make up for that by removing some. For example planting carbon absorbing trees or using machines.
Although not all emissions can be reduced to zero, those that remain need to be matched by actively removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Natural removal methods include planting trees and restoring peatlands. There are also some technologies that can be used to remove emissions, such as Carbon capture, where the carbon dioxide is captured before it is released into the atmosphere and Stord underground.
What have the UK been doing?
To assist meeting there 2050 target, the UK government have set out a series of pledges:
- Rapidly increasing wind and solar to achieve clean electricity by 2030
- Ending the same of new fully petrol and diesel cars by 2023
- installing 600,000 electric heat pumps a year by 2028
- investing in technology to capture and store carbon dioxide
Although UK’s greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 50% since 1990, a lot more works needs to be done. Since coming to power in July, the new labour government has vowed to ramp up the governments climate efforts.
What are other countries doing?
145 countries are considering net zero targets, covering about 90% of global emissions. However not all have set specific deadlines.
China is currently the largest producer of carbon dioxide and is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2060. They plan to cut emissions however they are not fully developed, however its electric vehicle sales and renewable sector have been expanding rapidly. The United States has historically been the largest emitter of carbon dioxide but still emits more than China per head. They have pledged to reach net zero by 2050. They do have major investment packages which aim to boost renewables and other clean technologies. Other Countries like Russia and India are also significant emitters and have pledged to reach net zero by 2060 and 2070 respectively, but are yet to have publish few polices to back this up.
Successful Revamp Project in Norfolk
Exciting update! We have recently completed a revamp project in Norfolk, breathing new life into one of our solar, ground-mounted assets. We’ve replaced outdated systems with cutting-edge technology, including new HV transformers, upgraded LV distribution panels, enhanced monitoring capabilities, and fenced free-standing racking inverter stations with state-of-the-art M2 SKE/Huawei string inverters.
The result? Significantly boosted performance by minimised downtime, streamlined maintenance for our O&M partner, and extended equipment warranties. This revitalized powerhouse now generates enough clean energy to power almost 1,300 homes* every year! 💡🌿
We give a special thanks to project partners Stern Energy and SKE/Huawei, and Armstrong project managers Helen Robinson and Doug Allan.
For more information on our site visit, please visit here
Meet the Team!
Introducing John Conway
Meet John Conway, PowerGreen’s Senior Business Development Manager. John’s passion is delivering renewable energy solutions to clients across different industries, enabling them to benefit from lower operational running costs and reduce their carbon footprint.
Prior to joining the renewable energy industry in 2009, John worked in the telecommunications sector for Motorola and Chicago Telephone supply for nearly two decades. Having spent the last 15 years in the renewables industry in operational and commercial roles, John has worked with a range of companies and industry stakeholders who are at the forefront of innovation and operational excellence.
Since joining PowerGreen, John has established new partnerships and bolstered the Commercial & Industrial solar PV client pipeline.
Connect with John Conway on LinkedIn to stay updated on his journey and follow PowerGreen for the latest in solar innovation.
Is your company compliant?
Sustainable Energy First, an energy and sustainability consultancy, have fantastic resources and information available for companies, including free helpful guides about the various compliance initiatives that qualifying businesses need to consider. Free Energy and Compliance Guides | Sustainable Energy First (sefirst.com)
As many readers will already be aware, solar can have a direct benefit to commercial organisations, helping them meet low carbon and energy targets:
ESOS – solar provides a clear route to energy saving
EPCs -Commercial buildings must comply with Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards – MEES
UK ETS – solar power could provides a power source before other carbon emitting fuels to ETS costs
CBAM – many companies will be required to cut their carbon emissions for the 2027 deadline
Got to www.sefirst.com to find out more.
How PowerGreen are helping businesses
The PowerGreen team are helping commercial and industrial businesses across the UK to achieve their sustainability targets. By creating flexible, bespoke solar solutions we can support companies to meet their energy and ESG objectives, whilst reducing their long-term power costs.
Solar is a mature and reliable technology, assisting in accelerating the clean energy transition to help with the immediate climate and energy crisis. We are delighted to be working with many sustainability, commercial, financial and operations Directors across a range of business sectors, designing and delivering ground or rooftop solar projects to meet their needs.
Please contact us at powergreen@renewableconnections.co.uk to find out what we can do for your business.