In November 2015, following a successful tender bid, ARPower was awarded the highly prestigious contract to fit a 109.5kW solar PV system upon the Northumbria University Sport Central.
The 400 panel installation will self-generate electricity for the £30 million multi-purpose sports centre and events arena which is located in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne and forms part of the Northumbria University Campus.
Sport Central is a state-of-the-art facility that includes a 12mtr high climbing wall, indoor golf simulators, a six-lane swimming pool and sports hall for five-a-side soccer, netball, badminton, basketball and volleyball. Its main arena holds up to 3,000 people and is home to the Newcastle Eagles, British Basketballs Leagues most successful team.
The project had to be planned with precision to co-ordinate the stringent demands of timescale and the unique safety requirements of the residents and visitors to campus which hosts 33,000 students from 135 countries.
The logistics of the installation were immense and required the erection of temporary scaffolding, the deployment of a mobile heavy lift crane, telehandlers and a relay of articulated delivery trucks from the very outset.
- System Size – 109.5 kWo
- Kilowatt Hrs – 95,291 kWh / yr.
- Co² Savings – 934,826 T / yr.
- ROI – 14.2%
Ground level spaces were temporarily zoned off to pedestrians with physical barriers and warning signage. A waste processing area was created to enable all of the solar modules cardboard and packaging to be re-cycled and to allow all non-re-useable material to be removed from the site ASAP.
As can be imagined, with any “end of year” project, the winter conditions prevailed – yet despite short daylight hours and days when work had to be cancelled due to the most adverse of weather conditions – we still managed to complete the project to specification, schedule, safety and quality requirements – and of equal importance, to our client’s satisfaction.
