Solar carport takes Norwich office off the grid

  • Solar carport will cover 250 car park spaces at a core Aviva site.
  • It will generate 542,000 kWh - enough to power 138 homes - annually.
  • Aviva will use 91% of the generated energy.
Aviva has demonstrated its commitment to tackling climate change by building a solar carport at one of its core sites in Norwich.

During periods of good light, the carport will generate more than enough energy to power the company’s ‘Horizon’ office, which accommodates around 1,000 Aviva employees.  Any excess power will be sold back to the national grid.

Based at Broadlands Business Park, the specially-constructed solar panels cover 250 car park spaces and will generate 542,000 kWh annually – enough to power 138 homes annually or an electric car for 1.5 million miles (60 times around the world)1.  At peak generating capacity, Aviva will use 91% of the generated ‘green’ energy.

Aviva also made an active decision to use local suppliers for this this latest development, employing Norwich-based firm RenEnergy for the construction of the carport. The design has 1,872 solar panels (each 325-watt) and a 313-metre bespoke mounting frame, which was developed to minimise the amount of concrete required in the build. Created with the future of motoring in mind, each parking-space is electric vehicle ready, allowing chargers to be added to meet user demand.

In numbers: Broadlands Business Park solar carport

250

car park spaces

1,872

solar panels

542,000

kWh generated annually - enough to power 138 homes

91%

the percentage of generated energy Aviva wll use

The solar carport is the latest development in Aviva’s ambition to tackle climate change. It became the first carbon neutral international insurer in 2006 and it continues to offset any remaining operational carbon emissions today. To date, Aviva has achieved a 60% reduction in CO2e against the 2010 baseline and is working towards an ambitious target of a 70% reduction by 2030.

Damian Baker from RenEnergy said: “We were delighted to be provided with the opportunity to showcase our bespoke solar carport designs with the Norwich Aviva offices.  Aviva has shown real foresight in utilising its car park to expand its generation capacity, whilst reducing its environmental impact and future-proofing the business for the electric car revolution.  Furthermore, the system does not sacrifice any car parking spaces.

 The solar carport is a really innovative way to generate green energy, tackle climate change and reduce our environmental impact. It’s a fantastic design that delivers on the environmental benefits without impacting on space.  And it’s ready for the future with the electric vehicle revolution just around the corner.

We are thrilled with RenEnergy’s brilliant design and construction.  It was great to be able to use a local company whose skill and expertise in this field has delivered this amazing result.

“We hope other companies will follow Aviva’s lead and the benefits offered by the innovative design.”

-ENDS-

1Statistics sourced from RenEnergy.

Media enquiries

Sarah Poulter

UK External Communications

Notes to editors:

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