Newquay Zoo goes ape for solar PV
Newquay Zoo has won a Sustainable City Award for Resource Conservation after the installation of high quality, roof mounted solar PV panels from Becosolar on the south-facing roof of the Monkey House.
As part of its commitment towards renewable energy, Newquay Zoo installed 53 Sharp Nu-180 panels from Becosolar to generate green energy to provide electricity to the zoo, as well as solar thermal panels to heat water in the Café Lemur restaurant.
Newquay Zoo worked with Community Energy Plus, providers of renewable and sustainable energy advice to source funding. The £53,693 cost of the renewable energy project was raised by nearly £30,000 from EDF Energy and £23,728 from the Government’s Low Carbon Building Programme.
The project will generate an estimated 9,300kWh of energy each year and save over 4.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into the environment. A live, web-based monitoring system displays the amount of energy generated and savings in CO2.
Commenting on the project, Sean Sanguinette, Environmental Officer at Newquay Zoo said: " Many of the species of animals at the zoo are endangered due to deforestation and development pressures which contribute to climate change and we have therefore been proactive in protecting the environment. We have been extremely pleased with the results from installing the panels from Becosolar and are now looking forward to increased energy production over the summer months."
Newquay Zoo has more than 130 different species set in sub-tropical lakeside gardens which attract up to 200,00 visitors each year. As a conservation charity Newquay Zoo is dedicated to reducing energy consumption through the use of renewable energy. The solar PV panels from Becosolar will not only reduce carbon footprint and save money, but also provide a showcase of how the power of the sun can be used to produce a sustainable source of electricity.
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