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The recent period of sunny weather saw Guernsey Electricity's community solar panels create 28,000kWh of power over the course of a month.
The island enjoyed 161 hours of sunshine throughout March, which meant the photovoltaic arrays at Envoy House and Electricity House - both connected to Guernsey's grid - could get to work.
Since installation, the two systems have supplied more than 300,000 kWh of renewable energy to the grid and will continue to produce enough to power around 200 electric cars each year.
Guernsey Electricity also purchases around 350,000 kWh of electricity annually from privately-owned renewable installations, which is re-distributed to its wider electricity customer group.
“The PV arrays are working really well which shows that investing in solar technology at the community scale is not just the right thing to do for the environment and our customers, but it is also being achieved at a very competitive price," said GEL's Head of Asset Management, Stuart Blondel.
Pictured: Some of the solar panels were installed at Envoy House.
“We believe that everyone should benefit from sustainable electricity, regardless of their individual circumstances. So, for customers who are not able to invest in their own solar panels, or live in a property without their own roof space, these larger scale solar installations offer our community a route to locally produced renewable energy in a way that is fair and beneficial for all.”
Following the publication of its climate change statement and revised Environmental Sustainability Strategy earlier this year, GEL’s long term aim is to continue to invest in commercial scale solar arrays across the island.
The company is pursuing a range of additional community scale solar projects, similar to those at Envoy House and Electricity House, including installations at the King George V playing fields and the Longue Hougue Waste Transfer Station.
Both of these have now been completed and are ready to be commissioned once the current lockdown restrictions are lifted.
Pictured top: Guernsey Electricity's solar panels.
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