Solar and battery storage for a shellfish waste recycler in Penzance
Western Waste recycles shellfish waste at its Newbridge site near Penzance, in the far west of Cornwall. It’s a working site that uses a lot of power, and it has a big roof that was doing nothing. The business wanted to make its own clean electricity, store some of it for later, and cut the cost of running the site.
The challenge
The building has a fibre-cement roof. It can carry solar, but it needs care and the right approach so it stays sound and weatherproof. The array also had to be big enough to make a real dent in the site’s demand, which meant a three-phase system with battery storage built in from the start.
A system this size also needs G99 approval from the local network operator, National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED), so the paperwork had to run alongside the build.
What we installed
We fitted a 71.875 kWp array made up of 115 × Aiko 625 W panels. These are high-output panels, so the roof produces more power from the same space.
The panels feed a SolaX X3-MGA-60K-G2 60 kW inverter, which manages the solar, the batteries and the site supply together. For storage, we installed SolaX T-BAT H batteries with 46.4 kWh of capacity. That lets the site keep surplus daytime solar and use it later, instead of exporting it cheaply and buying power back at full price.
Timeline
- August 2024: deposit paid and the project booked in
- September 2024: kit delivered to site
- November 2024: system installed and handed over
- January 2025: G99 connection finalised with NGED
Results
The handover estimate puts the system’s generation at about 73,803 kWh a year. We also estimate a payback period of around 4 years 1 month. These are estimates, not metered results. Real performance will depend on the weather, energy prices and how much power the site uses during the day.
With a large array and 46.4 kWh of storage, the site can use far more of its own solar, from first light into the evening. The system comes with our 24-month workmanship warranty, as well as the manufacturers’ product warranties.
Is your business roof ready to work harder?
See more on our commercial solar page, find out how battery storage can help your site use more of its own power, or read about solar for warehouses and industrial units.
Running an industrial site and want lower energy costs? Contact us for a free, bespoke quote.
