Case Study:
Wiles Greenworld - West London

UK's second greenest company goes even greener and saves over £14,000 per year

The Sunday Times described Wiles Greenworld as the second greenest company in the UK and, the more we learnt about them, the more we understood why. Operating from their offices and warehouse in West London, they provide supplies and services to offices in Central London, adding value to the relationship through initiatives such as the free-of-charge collection of recycling.

Universal values around low carbon working have been embedded in the organisation. They are completely committed to reducing their own environmental impact and making the transition to a zero carbon operation. So, Wiles Greenworld commissioned Mypower to install a 81.8kW commercial solar panels system on the roof of their warehouse.

Key facts and predictions - amended to March 2017 rates

28 tonnes - CO2 reduction per annum.
£9,000 - predicted income and savings per annum - assuming 75% on site usage.
9 years - pay back.
11% - return on investment.
81.8kW - half facing southwest and half facing northeast.
£315,700 - 20 year projected income.

Exceeding projections

In the first 12 months, the system produced 73,556kWh of electricity compared to the predicted level of 66,383kWh - over 10.8% more than projected.

All this, despite half of the system facing north-east.

North-east facing roof, no problem

Wiles Greenworld's roof is south-west and north-east facing. NE facing roofs are not normally used as the yield is less than a SW facing roof but with a pitch of only 10%, the company was keen to explore the feasibility of covering both sides to maximise output and CO2 reduction. The predictions were to produce 35,300kWh from the SW facing roof and 30,900kWh from the NE facing roof. With scaffolding and overhead costs already covered, it was an easy decision to make.

Ben Harrison, who heads up Mypower, commented: "The project at Wiles Greenworld is proof that you don't need a roof facing south to benefit immensely from solar PV. They have utilised roof space to secure their future energy and protect their business from rising energy costs. But most importantly for Wiles Greenworld, this 81kw system has reduced their carbon emissions by 28 tonnes each year while giving an excellent ROI".

For Wiles Greenworld, it is important that every customer can see that their green credentials are not 'just talk'. Toby Robins, Sustainable Development Director, explained: "Our PV array not only makes financial sense but also differentiates us in the marketplace, extracting further commercial value from the initiative. Credit must go to the whole team at Mypower who calmly delivered the project against the inevitable FiT revision deadline".

"This investment not only supports our zero carbon operation goals but also demonstrates the scale of our commitment to a move to a sustainable economy.
Currently, my Tesla is the only vehicle that runs on electricity but as we electrify more of our distribution fleet, we are likely to be back for an extension to the installation to cover the flat roof over the offices".

Toby Robins, Sustainable Development Director - Wiles Greenworld