EV & PV: The synergy between two clean energy technologies

The Climate Crisis: It’s time to act

The IPCC, NASA and the world’s leading scientists have warned that we are facing a climate emergency and that if we continue to burn fossil fuels such as gas, coal and oil we risk a man-made disaster of global scale.

Whilst evidence for the climate crisis is alarming, there is still hope. A recent climate report, based on 40 years of data and endorsed by 11,000 scientists from more than 150 countries around the world, states that there are a number of immediate steps we can take to avoid irreparable damage to our planet.

One of these key areas is energy; we must increase and accelerate the rate at which we generate, store and distribute our energy from renewable sources if we are to slow the rate at which the earth is warming and protect future generations.

Commercial solar PV: clean on-site energy generation

Due to falling costs and the particularly high returns that commercial solar panels deliver, they are one of the most popular sustainable solutions to combatting climate change. Thousands of UK businesses have now switched to solar to power their operations.

More and more businesses are beginning to understand the benefits associated with generating your own energy. It makes both financial and environmental sense; whereas the price of energy bought from the grid continues to rise year on year, the price of installing solar panels has plummeted, reducing operating costs significantly.

It’s now possible for a business to ‘pre-purchase’ electricity at a fixed unit price, forecast long-term energy costs and protect themselves against the volatile energy market, all whilst helping to protect the environment and improve corporate social responsibility.

Combing PV with EV

With transport accounting for 23% of the UK’s CO2 emissions – more than any other sector, the Government has set a target of halving non-electric vehicle sales by 2030 and ending them entirely by 2040. 

With the growing EV market it is evident that organisations will need to implement a charging infrastructure going forward. This is likely to increase on-site energy consumption and it therefore makes economic sense to combine charging facilities with solar PV.

Businesses throughout the UK that have already combined on-roof solar with charge points are benefiting from reduced transport costs by charging their electric fleet with free energy and a number of forward-thinking businesses, such as The RSPB and ENGIE have already installed a number of smart energy technologies such as solar carports.

A solar carport is a dual purpose, stand-alone structure that provides shelter for vehicles, whilst generating clean, free energy from the sun. This free electricity can then either be used on-site and (or) used to charge electric vehicles.

From a dual parking space to an entire commercial car park; a solar carport makes a real statement on sustainability and not only offers the opportunity to increase on-site energy generation but to charge electric vehicles, aesthetically improve your carpark, visibly promote your CSR credentials and provide staff, visitors and their vehicles with shelter from the elements. With smart enabled charge points it is also possible to generate a new revenue stream from low grade parking spaces by billing visitors and (or) staff to charge their vehicles.

For more information or to arrange a free, no obligation desktop survey, please contact us.