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June 10, 2016 In

Orchard Field Community School

Orchard Field School meets it high demand within strict grid restrictions

Orchard Field Community School is a large primary school in Banbury, Oxfordshire and a member of the Low Carbon Hub Solar Schools portfolio. The installation was installed in Summer 2015.

Challenge

Orchard Field Community School is a large primary school with a very high energy demand.  The school’s roof along with being large also curves around in a crescent moon shape. This presented a challenge in terms of how to secure the panels to the roof. The lengths of rail which we normally used on gable roofs couldn’t be used.  This also presented a challenge in terms of how best to wire the solar PV modules to the inverters, as panels facing in slightly different directions have different outputs depending on the location of the sun.  Orchard Field was therefore a tricky set up.

The final challenge was also to limit the potential export to the national grid. Despite the high demand on site solar PV export was limited to 50kWp, meaning that we needed to find a way to prevent the PV system from generating 50kWp more than the demand on site at any point in time – a very likely occurrence over the summer holidays.

Benefits

On a clear spring day the solar PV system meets the total energy demand on site. During the Summer this happens  more and more. Whatever the weather this system makes a significant reduction to the School’s electricity bills. And like all our installations in schools it has become a valuable educational tool for the pupils.

Why they chose Joju?

Joju have been one of the preferred suppliers of the Low Carbon Hub for several years and Orchard Croft is just another fantastic example of us working with them.

Headmistress Dawn Shilston said “As a school we feel incredibly proud to be doing our utmost to reduce our Carbon Footprint. It is incredible to consider we are the largest Solar Roof Project on a Primary School in Oxfordshire with our school roof hosting 384 solar panels. It has been an invaluable exercise in educating our pupils for the future on the importance for us all to explore the possibility of using renewable resources for our energy.”

Read More about the installation and all its savings here at Low Carbon Hub

 

 

April 26, 2016 In

Wey Valley Schools

Community funded installations for secondary schools in Southern England

The Wey Valley Solar Schools (WVSSC) Co-operative is a community-owned energy co-operative set up by local people from the towns of Guildford and Godalming in Surrey. A 2011 share offer raised £625,000 from individual investors to put solar panels on the roofs of six state secondary schools in Surrey. The addition of a subsequent site gave an initial total generation capacity of 267kW over seven schools. Investor members have so far received annual returns of over 7%.

The Co-operative provides schools with:

  •       renewable energy free of charge or at a heavily discounted rate
  •       the ability for each school to cut their carbon emissions by up to about 20 tonnes per year
  •       an educational package to explain and monitor the renewable energy being generated by each school

In 2015 WVSSC made a second share offer to raise between £200,000- 250,000 to fund substantial extensions to solar installations at Godalming College and Beacon School of up to 285 kW, more than doubling the generating capacity of the Co-operative.

Joju Solar were delighted to be chosen by Wey Valley Solar Schools as the preferred contractor for this ongoing project and have worked closely with them to deliver their installations. We also provide monitoring and maintenance for the solar systems helping ensure that they continue to get the most energy and best financial returns across their whole portfolio.

Testimonial

“Wey Valley Solar Schools have used Joju Solar on numerous installations. They have been excellent and I recommend them. They have compared very favourably indeed with the other contractors of which I have experience. They have plenty of experience in dealing with sensitive sites (e.g. schools) and working around operating sites. They are completely aligned to the community energy movement and to find this together with technical expertise has been a real joy. Their quotes are firm and contain no hidden extras. They are easy to work with and very supportive because we are all trying to deliver the same mission.” Mike Smyth, Director, Wey Valley Solar Schools

 

 

April 26, 2016 In

Norbar Tools

Norbar Tools get tooled up with Solar PV

Challenge

To scope, survey, design, supply and install solar panels for the Norbar Tools factory in Banbury, Oxfordshire. The project involved a very tight timescale of only five weeks from contract signature to full commission in order to meet the Feed-in Tariff deadline. This was also a community-funded project by the Low Carbon Hub with no upfront costs to Norbar Tools.

READ MORE

April 21, 2016 In

Oxford Bus Company

Pioneering joint Solar PV venture between Oxford Bus Company and the Low Carbon Hub.

In 2013, Joju’s Commercial Solar Panels team installed a 143 kWp solar panel system on the roof of the Oxford Bus Company.  The system was funded by a community share offer, run by the Low Carbon Hub. It was a pioneering commercial solar panels project run by a community group working alongside a major local business.

READ MORE

April 5, 2016 In

Low Carbon Hub

People’s Power Station project uses solar energy from community buildings.

Low Carbon Hub (LCH) is one of the most innovative and exciting community carbon projects in the country. The LCH works collaboratively with a range of other community organisations by helping them to develop their own low carbon projects.

One of LCH’s most exciting projects is the People’s Power Station. The closure of Didcot A power station in 2015 gave LCH the idea of replacing part of its capacity with solar energy from several hundred houses and community buildings.

The first building to form part of the People’s Power Station was a 12.65kWp solar PV installation on Eynsham Community Hall installed by Joju Solar. The project, a collaboration with GreenTEA caught the imagination to such an extent that it was opened by David Cameron in September 2012.

For coverage on Solar Power Portal, please see here. If you’d like to get in touch with the Low Carbon Hub then you can email them at info@lowcarbonhub.org.

Joju work closely with LCH and delivered a range of exciting solar projects throughout 2013/14.

April 5, 2016 In

Fox Primary School

Fox Primary School shows its cunning with solar installation.

Challenge

To install an 18kWp installation on the flat roof of this primary school in Notting Hill, Joju Solar worked with the school to secure some of the last capital grants available, totalling 50% of the total cost.

“I’d have no hesitation in recommending Joju Solar. This was an exciting project for our school and unlike other projects we’ve carried out. This meant we needed an installer we could trust and understood the issues involved in working in a live school environment. Joju Solar installed our school’s PV system on time and on budget and worked in accordance with all our requirements. I found them helpful, professional and expert at what they did. Many thanks.” Paul Cotter, Headteacher

Solution

After much planning and discussions we decided to install the system over the half-term break so as to cause minimal disruption to pupil and school life. The project consisted of 98 PV modules connected to the 3-phase supply of the building. This allowed the installation team to carry out the project with little problems.

Rewards

By generating green electricity on their available roof space the school can now expect to save over 8 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year and reduce their electricity bills at the same time.