Wiltshire Council and EV charging specialist 3ti Energy Hubs have officially launched their solar car park constructed from sustainable timber beams and solar panels.
The solar car park at Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre in Salisbury is supporting Wiltshire Council’s commitment to be a carbon neutral organisation by 2030. 3ti worked closely with the leisure centre and council to deliver its solar EV charging hub, Papilio3. Built around an upcycled shipping container, it provides visitors and staff access to reliable, fast and safe EV charging.
The solar car park structure is made from Glulam, which are renewable, recyclable wood laminations bonded together to offer a natural alternative to steel or concrete.
The engineered timber affords significant advantages over structural steel. The material is claimed to be three times stronger and a third lighter. It uses around a tenth of the energy used to produce an equivalent steel beam, and is repairable, and can be a biofuel at the end of its life.
Since the technology has been installed, the solar arrays have generated in excess of 20MWh per month. The solar installation at Five Rivers comprises three gullwing solar canopies covering 70 car park spaces, with a combined total capacity of around 220 kWp.
Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre use 100% of the solar generation, which contributes approximately 10% of overall electricity demand at the site.
Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Leisure, said:
“We are a high-profile organisation, and if the actions we are taking can inspire others in the county and beyond to do the same then that can only be a good thing.”
Cllr Tamara Reay, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Assets, said:
“We have been working incredibly hard to make our own buildings, and how we work, as energy efficient as possible and in 2023/24 council emissions are down to 2,767 tCO2e, surpassing our target.
“We’ll continue to do what we can to lead the way on this work locally and, as we’ve demonstrated through this project, bold action really can make a difference.”
Ben Marchant, CEO at 3ti said:
“We are incredibly proud to support Wiltshire Council in such forward-thinking sustainable initiatives.
“Being involved from the outset, it is fantastic to see the cost savings and efficiency achieved through the solar installations, and to witness the significant rise in EV charge point usage by visitors over recent months is truly inspiring.“
Image courtesy of 3ti.
