Case Study:
William Gilder Ltd

Locally sourced electricity reduces Gilder's environmental impact and lowers costs

William Gilder Ltd is a leading provider of specialist waste transport and treatment services, based in Teddington, Gloucestershire. In the summer of 2017, Mypower installed a 141kW solar PV system on the roof of Gilder's headquarters.

Employing over 100 people, Gilder is the largest business in the village of Teddington. Managing Director, William Gilder, has a genuine focus on reducing his business's environmental impact on the local area, and he achieved ISO14001 Environmental Management Systems accreditation in 2009. The solar PV system maintains this focus by significantly reducing the company's carbon footprint, while also making a substantial cost saving.

No business interruption during install

One of Gilder's key requirements was that there would be no disruption to business operations, as they have a busy workshop and vehicle maintenance forecourt.

Key facts and predictions
Updated using May 2019 post-subsidy rates

141kW (496 solar panels) - installed by Mypower.
127,128 - units of energy produced per annum.
£16,934 - projected first year income and savings assuming 75% of electricity is used on site.
16.5% - projected first year return on capital invested, before capital allowance benefits.
5.04 p/kwh - equivalent forward purchase price of 2,876,144 units of electricity over 25 years. This includes projected operations and maintenance costs.
42 tonnes - CO2 emissions avoided per annum.
6.1 years - system payback before finance, tax and capital allowance benefits.

Providing clean energy to a neighbouring business

The solar PV system was originally installed to provide energy to William Gilder Ltd's headquarters in Teddington. However, it has now been connected to the neighbouring Teddington Stores’ business. Instead of selling their excess energy to the grid at 5-6p per unit, Gilder's excess electricity generation is sold to Teddington Stores at a much higher rate per unit, but one that still provides a material saving compared to grid supplied rates. This represents a win-win for Gilder and Teddington Stores - a better commercial return for Gilder and a clean, local, low-cost energy supply for Teddington Stores.

No Feed-in Tariffs? No problem

Although Gilder benefited from the Feed-in Tariff subsidy, the key facts and predictions above have been updated to reflect how installation would have looked commercially if it had been installed in May 2019 - i.e. subsidy-free. As illustrated, with the continued rise of grid supplied energy prices and the reductions in solar PV equipment costs, subsidy free solar is still the most cost effective clean and local energy source for your business.

BBC regional and local news outlets interviewed Mypower at William Gilder’s site at the time of the subsidy closure, at the end of March 2019. Please click on either image to see both William Gilder and Mypower’s comments on the benefits of solar PV, and why solar energy generation represents great value for businesses in 2019 and beyond.

Mypower's Ben Harrison on BBC Points West

"We would highly recommend Mypower. The installation from initial discussion to completion has been professionally managed and effectively delivered with no disruption to our
day-to-day business. We are impressed that the installation is producing power in line with the projections provided."

Melvyn Evans, Director - William Gilder Ltd