As energy efficiency becomes a high priority in all walks of life Parc y Scarlets is pushing the boundaries in the latest trend of environmentalism in sport.
Already seen as a world-class sporting venue, and home of Scarlets Rugby, Parc y Scarlets has staged UEFA, FIFA and FAW football, Six Nations U20s rugby, world class darts and chart topping acts in the five short years since opening the doors in November 2008 and is already making waves in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Professional rugby region the Scarlets has turned to solar PV and Dragon Energy Solutions to help reduce its energy bills and carbon footprint after it installed what is the largest array on a sporting facility in the UK.
The 250kWp array, designed, and installed by Dragon Energy Solutions , is expected to generate around 239,000kWh of electricity every year. The Scarlets rugby region is expected to make significant savings on their energy costs and save a staggering 2,300 tonnes of CO2 over 20 years.
Commenting on the installation, Jason Oakley, co-founder and Director at Dragon Energy Solutions, said that installs like the one at Parc y Scarlets would become more common. Mr Oakley explained; “Solar PV installations like this are becoming increasingly popular as energy prices continue to apply significant pressure on UK businesses, particularly those with large energy costs and carbon footprints.
He went on to say; “This was a challenging project that was delivered successfully throughout the recent storms without causing disruption to a professional sporting arena and facility which is in continuous active use. Working with a prestigious name like the Scarlets is another great win for the Dragon division which continues to go from strength to strength.”
“For us as a local company, and lifelong supporters of the Scarlets, it’s been hugely satisfying and a privilege in being awarded and delivering such a project and to become long term sponsors and renewable energy partners of the Scarlets, it means a lot to us on a personal and business level.
Commenting on the project, Jon Daniels, General Manager of the Scarlets said; “We are incredibly proud to be working towards a cleaner, greener future here at the Parc and this is another big step towards achieving our goal of being energy efficient and doing our bit for the environment.
“The solar array will help reduce our use of grid-supplied energy but will also demonstrate the power and benefits of solar to other stadia and business premises around the country.”
Mr Daniels went on to say; “We are delighted with the project undertaken and completed by Dragon Energy Solutions in very testing conditions and timescales. The work was carried out with no disruption in what is a very busy environment, the 1000 solar modules installed is an impressive sight to behold and was done with the minimum of fuss by Dragon Energy Solutions.
“With recycling numbers improving on a daily basis and work already underway on a bore hole which will allow us to have an independent water supply to irrigate the pitch and training field we are confident that we’re impacting positively on the environment.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase energy efficiency within a stadium environment but to also encourage others to become more environmentally friendly in sport and business.”
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The 250kWp PV array is being installed on the South South-West facing roof of the Delme Thomas Centre (Indoor Training Centre) at Parc y Scarlets.
The power produced is inverted inside the Centre with cabling running AC power to the main stadium itself.
The PV array features 980 JA Solar 255Wp polycrystalline modules mounted on BayWa r.e.’s own Novotegra commercial mounting system. Novotegra is manufactured in Germany by our parent company BayWa r.e. Solarsysteme GmbH and is designed for exactly this type of commercial-scale installation on a trapezoidal metal roof. As BayWa r.e. manufacture the system and have specified the build, the speed of installation, the cost effectiveness and reliable delivery schedule have all been significant factors in helping the installation go smoothly.
To maximise the power yield each pair of modules is connected to a SolarEdge OP600 optimizer which are then connected to SolarEdge SE16k inverters. The SolarEdge inverters are being installed inside the training centre and a heavy duty custom-built cage is also being installed to protect the inverters from flying rugby balls!
The PV system is expected to generate 239,841 kWh/year of electricity, which is 960 kWh/kWp/year due to the location in South Wales and thanks to the additional benefits of using module optimisation from SolarEdge.
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