SALISBURY will become the home of Europe's first-ever large-scale solar-powered car park with carbon-friendly construction.
The car park at Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre, in Hulse Road, will be transformed into a solar-powered car park (SCP) by solar energy company 3ti.
Opening to the public in April, the new SCP at Wiltshire Council's Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre will use 100 per cent of the solar generation on-site, contributing approximately 10 per cent of overall electricity demand at the site, saving around £50,000 a year on electricity bills.
In its first year, the Five Rivers SCP is expected to generate 186MWh of electricity, enough to drive 679,856 miles in a modern electric vehicle, saving 36 tonnes of carbon emissions – the equivalent of planting nearly 600 trees and powering 50 homes.
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The SCP structure is made from glulam - renewable, recyclable wood laminations bonded together to offer a natural alternative to steel or concrete.
The engineered timber is highly repairable and provides significant advantages over structural steel as it is three times stronger and a third lighter and uses only a tenth of the energy it would take to produce an equivalent steel beam, contributing to a more sustainable building process.
It also has minimal environmental impact from its production and is an excellent biofuel at the end of its life.
The solar installation at Five Rivers comprises three gullwing solar canopies covering 70 car park spaces, with a combined total capacity of c.220 kWp.
The canopies are fitted with transparent Glass-Glass solar panels, offering high efficiency and long-term yields.
Philip McMullan, senior technical lead on major energy projects at Wiltshire Council, said: "We have invested heavily in sustainability to achieve our 2030 carbon neutral goals.
"The new solar installations at Five Rivers will help reduce our carbon footprint and support the local community with the transition to zero emission motoring by strengthening the county's EV charging infrastructure."
Tim Evans, founder and CEO at 3ti, said: "Our job is to champion workplace and destination EV charging to promote a 'charge where you stop' mentality across the UK, while supporting customers to achieve their sustainability goals.
"Better EV charging infrastructure at destinations with long dwell times - offices, hospitals and leisure facilities like Five Rivers - will encourage greater EV adoption rates.
"It's refreshing to see Wiltshire Council adopting such a forward-thinking approach, and we are honoured to play a part in their sustainability vision.
"We are constantly evolving our SCP products and are proud to feature these innovative new designs, construction materials and techniques at Five Rivers.
"Introducing these features means we can offer better durability and versatility than conventional materials and significantly reduce carbon emissions generated across the entire product lifecycle.
"This installation marks a major milestone on our journey to supporting customers and society as a whole; we will continue to work with facilities around the UK to roll out installations to support future generations and ‘leave something better behind."
For more information, visit: 3ti.co.uk
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