How Solar PV Is Generating Huge Savings for Conservation Charity Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is one of the biggest wildlife charities in the county with around 50 sites and, like many in the sector, they are facing the challenge of managing high energy costs while sustaining the vital work they do. The team were sourcing energy for their sites from utility companies using renewables but knew their biggest bill lands on the mat of their Head Office and Visitor Centre at Robinswood Hill Country Park. When Solarsense installed and switched on their new solar PV system there in June 2024, the team saw their bill over the summer drop by 50 percent and it’s estimated that across the whole year the bill will be a quarter of what it was before. We met with Lenka Cmelakova, the Trust’s Facilities Manager, to find out more;

“We work hard to reconnect people with nature, and to show them ways they can help make a difference. Big changes can be scary for people, but there are so many small things we can do. We might talk about our rainwater and wildlife gardens, for example, and show visitors how to create something similar where they live. Now we can point to our Solar PV as an example of how we run our business sustainably, saving precious funds for our work in the county.”

Why did the charity choose to install solar panels?

“Our head office was refurbished four years ago and we installed all sorts of environmental measures – cedar cladding from our nature reserve, storage heaters so we can use cheaper energy overnight to heat them up, natural air conditioning (or passive cooling) in the building, recycling units for paper, plastic and food (we have two cafes), bike sheds so people can cycle to work, and rain gardens to collect water. We had talked to a few other companies about solar energy but the expense and length of the payback period was so long it had seemed impossible to move forward. And then I came across Solarsense. They were well established, local to us, and I noticed one of their clients was the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT). We know the WWT team at Slimbridge well and so I reached out for their advice. They couldn’t say a bad word about Solarsense and have employed the company several times, so I called them in.”

What was the biggest challenge for your solar PV project?

“For us it was raising the funds. They had to come from our core budget, but we knew the investment – and the saving it delivered – would allow us to allocate more money to our other projects long-term.”

Were there any other issues to overcome?

“The actual installation was made wonderfully easy. The team guided me through the process and when they were on site worked around visitors, downing tools, for example, when children came onto the site for some project workshops so they didn’t disturb them. One of our concerns was wildlife on the building, but the team advised on ways we could gently deter any birds or squirrels from going under the panels. The Solarsense team were so sympathetic to the site and our needs and ambitions for the days they were with us. If I had to score them, it would definitely be ten out of ten.”

What were Solarsense like to work with?

“We really liked the way the way Solarsense worked – carrying out a detailed feasibility study, looking at the site, the strength of the roof, and using a drone and their surveys to calculate the best position for the panels and inverter. At the next stage we saw estimates on energy production and savings, including figures which showed the panels would pay for themselves in less than five years. They answered all our questions to give us a clear picture of what was involved and how the solar panels (62 in total) would be maintained and energy production monitored.”

Solar PV System Details

The 27kWp on-roof solar PV system installed for Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is comprised of 62 solar panels, 1 inverter and 62 SolarEdge optimisers. The clean energy system will generate more than 22,717kWh of clean electricity annually, as well as mitigate more than 4,814kg of carbon emissions per year. As well as significantly reducing the conservation charities’ reliance on the National Grid, the solar PV panels are estimated to payback installation costs within four years, generating a net profit of £454,903 over the next 25-years. For more information, please see the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust solar PV case study.