As part of our sustainability plan HSM asked the Nottingham City Council to conduct a Carbon Reduction Audit Report (ARC) to see if there were any potential areas, we could reduce our carbon footprint and energy costs.

The audit consisted of a full site tour looking at potential areas where investment could be used to offset costs. One significant area was identified as a major opportunity was the use of solar panels to help generate electricity utilising the roof area and 209 solar panels.

Working with ARC also gave us a significant benefit of 35% grant aid towards the cost of the new solar panels which was applied for using a very user-friendly application.

In October this year we identified a reliable partner in Cactus Energy Solutions Ltd (CES) to provide a schematic and quotation.  CES were very efficient and professional in supplying a scheme that maximised the use of the roof area to allow HSM the best £ per KW solution.

HSM Engineering Ltd use in the region of 360,000 kwh of electricity a year and with the introduction of the proposed scheme from CES we will generate 71,500 kwh savings, equating to 20% of costs and additionally 16.6 tons of carbon savings annually.

Solar facts relating to HSM Engineering Ltd’s new sustainable system and the wider industry:

Hucknall’s PV system is forecasting annual generation of 71,530kWh, which is the equivalent of:

• Powering 6 homes’ electricity use for a full year
• Charging 3,764,046 smartphones
• 71 barrels of oil consumed
• 76,808 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle
• 512 tree seedlings grown over 10 years

Solar PV energy facts:

• Solar is the Most Abundant Energy Source on Earth, with 174,000 terawatts of energy consistently striking the earth as solar radiation at any moment
• Solar PV Accounts for 3% of Global Electricity Generation
• Solar energy is the cheapest source of energy in the world as of 2017
• The first photovoltaic cell was created in 1941
• University College London found that a 10,000 square kilometre area in Texas, could generate more than the U.S. annual average consumption of 425 Gigawatts

Managing Director, Jason Thorpe stated “It is paramount for the business to keep investing in these types of projects which have a very quick payback, in this case 1.5 years. Standing still is not an option in today’s environment, especially when there is so much support around us for SME’s. This investment will serve HSM for many years”

The installation will be completed in 2022 ensuring that we are achieving our savings and sustainable targets for the year.