North Wales manufacturer BIPVco Ltd to provide solar PV cells for global brewing giant
Global drinks giant SAB Miller has reached an agreement with a UK manufacturer to install "pioneering" solar integrated roofing at one of its breweries in Nigeria.
Announced yesterday, the deal with specialist integrated solar roof manufacturer BIPVco Ltd will see a pilot 2kWp 'built-in' photovoltaic system installed on the brewery's roof as part of efforts to drive down SAB Miller's carbon footprint.
SAB Miller's process engineering manager, Thomas Brewer, said the initiative was in line with the firm's sustainability strategy as the roofing area of its Nigeria brewery offered a "massive opportunity" to turn the building into a power station that generates more energy than it uses.
"We are delighted to be associated with this pioneering manufacturing company that has taken the technology of integrating solar photovoltaic cells onto roofing substrates into a new paradigm," said Brewer. "The BIPVco advantages to SABMiller as a property owner were very clear from the outset - to be able to turn our roofs and industrial sites into power producing buildings using elegant, lightweight, efficient and cost effective technology, with no negative impact on the building's structure or aesthetics."
The collaboration between the two firms was facilitated by Swansea University's SPECIFIC programme, through which academic and industrial organisations team up to bring sustainable building solutions to market.
According to BIPVco, the technology uses highly efficient thin film solar cells that are as efficient as the typical Polycrystalline equivalent, but are also lightweight, flexible and durable.
The North Wales firm said Tata's nearby Shotton steelworks had produced the 18 sheets of Colourcoat Urban steel that have been embedded with solar PV cells to enable the generation of clean energy for the next 40 years.
The cells are made by creating a thin layer of photo sensitive Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) deposits onto a stainless steel substrate, which boosts the cell's strength, negates the need for any soldering between cells, and makes the design suitable for attaching to aluminium and steel roofs, the company said.
Justin Canning, chief commercial officer at BIPVco, hailed the deal as a milestone for the company.
"As an underpinning of the confidence we have in our own product, it is great to be able to work with companies like SAB Miller whose vision and focus on developing sustainable solutions is key to the proliferation of technologies that can unlock the potential that roofs offer for clean renewable energy generation," he said.
Further reading
from Home - Business Green http://ift.tt/2dAMlhV
Advertisement
Sourced by "Home Hacks". Scouring and supporting the art of DIY home projects by sharing links and information provided by numerous active reputable DIY veterans and company's. Any projects you start please be of proper age, follow all required safety measures, and use the required protective equipment when handling any chemicals, power tools, or during any construction project. If you need advice regarding your next project we suggest visiting Contractor Talk.
