£20,000
Saved per year
30
CO2 saved per year
Tonnes
159 kWp
System capacity
The Challenge
BPL Engineering is a turnkey engineering company that takes customers from prototype to low and medium volume production for sectors including automotive, aerospace, rail, nuclear and medical, with tool design, press work, 5-axis laser cutting, welding, fabrication and assembly all under one roof. In late 2018 the business moved into a custom-designed 20,000 sq ft site at Unit 5, Catesby Park in Kings Norton, Birmingham, home to its laser, press and CNC machining capabilities.
That kit runs through the working day, and every hour it runs shows up on the electricity bill. For a manufacturer competing on price and lead times, energy is a real cost of every part that leaves the building. BPL wanted to bring that cost down and cut the carbon behind its production at the same time.
The Solution
Eden Sustainable designed and installed a 159 kWp rooftop solar PV system on the Catesby Park building. BPL funded the project itself as a capital investment, so it owns the system outright and keeps every pound of saving it produces.
The array is made up of 346 JA Solar 460W panels feeding two Solis 60kW inverters, with the generation lining up with the hours the machines are running. Eden managed the design, the grid connection with National Grid Electricity Distribution, installation and commissioning. The system went live in February 2023.
The Outcome
The system now saves BPL Engineering around £20,000 a year on electricity and avoids 30 tonnes of CO₂ annually. That money goes straight back into a business that has grown by reinvesting in its people and equipment.
It also gives BPL something its customers increasingly ask about: a measurable cut in the carbon behind every part it makes. For a supplier to automotive, aerospace and rail, that’s a commercial advantage as well as an environmental one.