Covers, a leading independent timber and builders merchants with 12 sites across Southern England, has signed an order with Azur Solar Systems to install solar PV systems on the roofs of all its suitable branches including its Chichester, Bognor, Portsmouth and Brighton locations.
Committed to developing its business sustainably, Solar PV will enable Covers to meet a significant proportion of its own energy needs. Importantly, the installations form part of a wider commercial relationship with Azur Solar. Each branch will operate as an Azur reference site, allowing Covers to promote the financial and practical advantages delivered by solar PV systems to its customers. Covers will also market ‘Azur Solar Power Kits’ to its customers so that they can also reap these benefits.
A total of 678 kWp is due to be installed across seven sites which are expected to generate approximately 600,000 kWh annually, through over 2,500 solar PV panels. The CO2 saving is estimated at 50% of Covers’ current CO2 emissions from electricity. Covers is leading the way in reducing CO2 emissions across Hampshire & Sussex. Determined to develop its business in a sustainable way, Covers has sensibly adopted solar PV panels to reduce both its electricity costs and CO2 emissions. The majority of electricity Covers requires is for lighting, general business systems and powered saws, however surplus electricity generated by the rooftop solar systems will be fed back into the National Grid, delivering a further financial return on the investment.
“We are delighted to have chosen Azur Solar as our partner to develop Covers’ Solar PV potential both as an investment on our branch roofs and in helping us to promote the benefits to our customer base. As well as being a good financial investment for us, the estimated saving of over 250 tonnes of CO2 each year is important in helping us play our part in mitigating climate change,” explained Rupert Green, Finance Director at Covers. Azur Solar will provide continuing remote monitoring and preventative maintenance to Covers.
“We first met Azur Solar at Ecobuild earlier this year and were impressed with its products, its professional approach and the speed at which it could develop and deliver a practical solution for us. They offer quality and innovative German manufactured products that are competitively priced, all backed up by credible guarantees.”
Due to the seaside location of several of its branches and the possible issue of sea salt and other particles covering the panels, Covers opted for Azur panels that include its unique self cleaning, self healing 2P coating. The Azur 2P transparent coating helps achieve a 5% increase in output efficiency for the panel plus Azur guarantees that module degradation will be reduced to typically less than 2% over the first 20 years of the systems’ lifespan. This represents a major improvement on the industry standard guarantee of 20% degradation over 25 years.
A key feature at many Covers branches is the development of an Eco Display where appropriate sustainable products can be featured and promoted to customers. As part of its approach to sustainability, Covers is replacing its lorries and cars with higher efficiency vehicles, is replacing lighting with much higher efficiency solutions and is encouraging cycling to work with interest free loans. It is also changing its waste management system to maximise recycling.
“This is a significant contract for Azur Solar as it not only means that we will deliver a number of installations over the coming months, but through our continued relationship with Covers, we will together promote the environmental and economic benefits that a solar PV system delivers to a wider audience,” stated Robert Markus Feldmann, MD at Azur Solar. “Our 2P coating on these panels also means that, unlike some competitive solutions, an Azur installation will continue to consistently perform with negligible deterioration in the panel or overall system performance. This maximises energy production by yielding significantly more kWh and thus provides superior return on investment over its operational lifespan.”
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