Landmarks, an independent Specialist College which empowers young adults aged 16-25 with learning difficulties and disabilities, has had commercial-grade Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems installed at three of its sites in South Yorkshire.
Engage Comms client Tate Solar, which brings Tate Oil’s 50 years’ experience of meeting the energy needs of ‘off grid’ rural properties to the renewable energy market, was selected as Landmarks’ installer of choice.
During the school Summer holidays, the Tate Solar team worked alongside other sub-contractors undertaking works at Landmarks’ Littlemoor House, Apperknowle Farm and Enterprise sites, to install solar panels on the roofs of all three buildings.
At its Littlemoor House college campus in Eckington, Sheffield, Tate Solar installed 74 450-watt Astronergy solar panels with Renusol buckets on the flat roof. This system is mated to a 30-kilowatt hybrid SunSynk inverter, allowing the college to opt for battery storage at a later date if and when funds allow. This will reduce the building’s electricity usage by approximately 30.4 megawatt hours, which is 38% of its annual electricity bill for the next 25 years.
At Landmarks’ working farm where students gain hands-on life skills, Tate Solar installed 60 450-watt Astronergy solar panels to the roof of one of the main farm buildings. This is also mated to a 25-kilowatt hybrid SunSynk inverter and will eliminate nearly 60% of the high energy use farm’s electricity bills.
A state-of-the-art Solar PV system was also installed at Landmarks’ Enterprise office building in Rotherham town centre.
Jemima Cresswell, Director of Marketing & Recruitment, Landmarks Specialist College, said:
“We’re committed to sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint, which is why it was a natural step for us to look at installing solar panels at some of our sites. Another huge factor was cost savings.”
“The reviews for Tate Solar were incredible and that’s what made them the stand-out company to use. We were able to see that they were an independent, family-run business, which we loved. They deliver a tailored approach, which is something that we really needed across all our sites. As soon as we spoke to them they were really helpful and hands-on. We’re so happy with the end result and can’t wait to see the benefits in the long term and the short term.”
Andy McAllister, Head of Solar, Tate Solar, added:
“This was a challenging and incredibly rewarding project for us, not least because of how different all three sites are. We were on a mission to prove that Solar PV can be hugely beneficial in lots of different settings and we have done that with a flat-roofed traditional college building, an office block and a farm.
“As a company with strong values around supporting rural communities, we were drawn to the important work Landmarks Specialist College does, especially at its Apperknowle Farm site. Farms are incredibly expensive to run and farm buildings tend to have a lot of roof space so solar panels are a sensible option for future-proofing them and, in this case, ensuring that the team can continue to keep offering such an enriching learning environment to those who need it most.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Landmarks and we’ll be working closely with them on an ongoing basis to help get the most out of the Solar PV systems we’ve installed.”
The project was designed not only to cut Landmarks Specialist College’s energy costs and work towards its long-term goal of becoming carbon neutral, but also to serve as a hands-on educational tool for students. The Solar PV systems are equipped with real-time monitoring, allowing students and staff to track energy production and environmental impact; an innovative way to integrate sustainability into the curriculum.
