EvoEnergy provides solar energy solution for BMW's 'Mini' plant in Oxford, UK

When automobile manufacturer BMW wanted to cut its carbon footprint by increasing its use of self-generated renewable power, EvoEnergy provided the tailor-made solution.

As part of what is now one of the largest roof mounted solar farms in the UK, 11,500 260kw solar PV panels have been installed on top of the German firm’s MINI production plant in Oxford, UK. The 3MW array, which covers 20,000 square metres, is now generating as much clean, green energy as is needed to power 850 homes – supplying power to the recently opened body shop production line where more than 1,000 robots are in operation building new MINI hatchback cars.

The sheer size of the job and the tight schedule involved presented EvoEnergy with big challenges to overcome from the very start. The company’s project team had just a week and a half to mobilise and prepare ahead of the start date. Detailed site surveys were required, management and construction plans had to be drawn up and materials which often require long lead times had to be ordered and delivered from third-party suppliers at short notice. Thankfully, work began on time in February and was completed — ahead of schedule — before the  end of May.

At least a dozen installers were on site every day over the three months to ensure that each project deadline was met. They made sure that the first MW — around 4,000 panels – was fitted and up and running in just five weeks, two weeks faster than normal. More importantly, installers had to ensure that the roof was not overloaded by some many panels.

“We knew it could be done, but it required a construction method far removed from your standard domestic or commercial installation,” said Michael Salisbruy, EvoEnergy’s projects director. “We opted for 24,000 aerodynamic solion frames, which interlock like building blocks underneath the PV, to provide the ballast-free solution that was needed. Now fully tested by DNA and the FSE, BMW’s finished array is a prime example of a business making good use of a space (which was previously left empty) for the benefit of their operations and the environment.”

The BMW plant was one of the first businesses to sign up to the Low Carbon Oxford Charter, an agreement which aims to reduce the city’s carbon footprint by 30% by 2020. The site’s solar array is its latest environmental addition after LED lights and water harvesting, and was launched during the inaugural ‘Low Carbon Oxford Week’.

EvoEnergy provides solar energy solution for BMW"s "Mini" plant in Oxford, UK

Renewables the solution to UK's critical fossil fuel shortage – report

Renewables the solution to UK’s critical fossil fuel shortage – report

Friday, May 16th, 2014 By Tom Revell

The UK faces a desperate shortage of natural resources such as oil and coal, according to a troubling new report that underlines the need for significant investment in renewable energy.

In new analysis, researchers from Anglia Ruskin University’s Global Sustainability Institute (GSI) have comprehensively mapped known international reserves of resources, also looking at supplies of food and water.

They found that the UK’s own reserves contain only enough oil to last 5.2 years at the current rate of consumption, with just 4.5 years of coal and three years of gas.

This means the UK is slightly better off than some of its neighbours – France, for example, has less than a year’s worth of oil, gas and coal.

However, some other European states are far better off. Russia has enough oil to sustain itself for over 50 years, with over 100 years of gas and more 500 years of coal, based on current internal consumption.

Norway has enough natural gas to last itself 420 years, while further afield, Qatar could continue consuming its gas reserves at the current rate for over a millennium.

“These maps show vulnerability in many parts of the EU and they paint a picture of heavily-indebted European economies coming under increasing threat from rising global energy prices”, said Dr Aled Jones, director of the GSI.

Prof Victor Anderson, also of the GSI, added that the report highlighted the need for alternative energy sources.

“The UK urgently needs to be part of a Europe-wide drive to expand renewable energy sources such as wave, wind, tidal and solar power”, he said.

Above: European resource maps for coal, gas and oil (click to enlarge).

Increased energy security is one of the biggest advantages that domestically produced renewable energy brings.

In April, a committee of MPs criticised the British government for failing to deliver plans that offer a secure, long-term energy supply.

This came after the Conservative party pledged to cut support for onshore wind projects and the Coalition government altered subsidies for solar power, making investors uneasy about the prospects of renewable projects.

The analysis is the first phase of the GSI’s ambitious Global Resource Observatory project, a survey that will provide an international database of national demand, supply and flow figures relevant to global resource security.

The first published findings also include a map of food reserves, finding that while Europe, America and Russia are well stocked, Africa the Arabian Peninsula and the Caribbean are highly dependent on imports.

Photo: johnny choura via Flickr

Further reading:

Guy Hands: Ukraine crisis shows importance of renewable energy

MPs criticise government’s short-termist national energy security plan

Energy security, fuel poverty and social change: the lowdown on renewables

Investments in renewables must increase, warns UN

Global Sustainability Institute to map effects of global resource shortages

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Renewables the solution to UK"s critical fossil fuel shortage – report

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