Manchester’s Eden schools turn on solar power
Star Academies multi-academy trust (MAT) has installed solar pv on the roofs of two of its schools in Manchester. Eden Boys’ Leadership Academy, Manchester and Eden Girls’ Leadership Academy, Manchester, which are located on a shared campus in the Cheetham Hill area, each now hosts a 103kWp solar pv array on its rooftop.
The solar install has been project managed by Identity Consult, who in turn, appointed Eden Sustainable as the EPC contractor following a competitive tender.
Each school’s solar array will generate nearly 88,000 kWh/year and this equates to 38% of all the energy used by the schools. The project has been self-funded with a payback return forecast within 4 years.
The schools will use 78% of all the solar energy generated, and the remainder that is generated will be sold back to the grid. Most importantly, approximately 42 tonnes of CO2 will be saved annually by each school.
Each solar array comprises 226x JA 455W solar panels and a Solis 80kW inverter. The flat roofs required a Van der Valk ballasted mounting frame.
The same project team led by Eden Sustainable has just completed a third Eden school install at Eden Boys’ Leadership Academy, Birmingham East.
David Holland, Executive Director: Capital & Infrastructure at Star Academies, commented ‘’It is wonderful to see progress on our net zero carbon journey and to have these two schools self-generating much of their electricity, helping the Trust to save money and carbon, and provide energy security. My thanks to the project teams at Identity Consult and Eden Sustainable for making this a reality.”
Matthew Little, Procurement Manager at Star Academies, said “This project continues Star Academies’ great work on our net zero journey and we are excited to continue this with the help of our framework partners.”
Matthew Pendergast, Senior Director at Identity Consult, commented “after all the preparation, it is a great feeling to see this project completed. With our continued involvement in multiple carbon reduction schemes across the country Identity Consult have established an IC Zero arm of the company to focus on encouraging and facilitating future schemes like this one to help clients meet their Net Zero targets.”
Scott Burrows, Director at Eden Sustainable remarked “Absolutely brilliant that one Eden can help another Eden! Solar is such a powerful visible beacon of renewable energy; it can help disseminate the critical net zero message to a school’s community and encourage sustainability champions of the future. The education sector is dear to my heart, so a huge thanks to Star Academies for joining the cause.”
Star Academies is one of the country’s leading multi-academy trusts, which runs 33 primary and secondary schools nationwide. Star’s mission is to improve the life chances of young people in areas of social and economic deprivation to help them succeed at the highest levels of education, employment and the professions.
Identity Consult is an award winning, independent development and construction consultancy who deliver innovation to the built environment. Through a hands-on bespoke service from the most experienced people, there is guaranteed excellence in project management, cost consultancy, employer’s agent and digital construction services across the UK.
Eden Sustainable Limited is a specialist in renewable energy, providing commercial solar and electric vehicle infrastructure solutions. Our team will help you develop, construct, fund and operate your solar PV system. We work across various sectors including commercial, industrial, logistics, healthcare, and education for multi-nationals, public sector and SMEs. The core team has over 100 years’ collective experience in renewable energy and property.