Jersey catching on to a bright idea?

Wednesday 11 February 2015

The Co-op is the latest business to take advantage of Jersey being the sunniest place in the British Isles with the installation of solar panels.

The roof of the new Co-op Locale in Grouville is covered in solar panels installed by Sun Works (CI) Ltd – a local firm that specialises in solar panel installation.

And managing director Mark Brandon says that more and more businesses – including some in the finance sector – are coming around to the idea of renewable energy to reduce their electricity bill.

He says that companies that use a lot of electricity during the day and have a large open roof space can stand to make substantial savings – the typical pay-back period for the initial investment can be just six or seven years, offering anything up to 19 years of free energy. And he says that his work, supported by Jersey Business Ltd who have been giving the company advice and support since it was first set-up, is looking increasingly promising over the next 12 months.

The 60 panels on the roof of the Co-op are enough to power around four Jersey homes for a year, but Mr Brandon said that while the numbers stack up very well for businesses, they don’t make as much financial sense for homeowners yet.

“Most people are not at home during the day when the sun is shining, and the power needs to be consumed at the point of generation,” he said.

“So what we do at the moment is targeting businesses that have a high day-time power consumption, so they can use all of the electricity that they generate. At the moment, if you generate more than you use it goes back into the grid, and the JEC pay you 6.5 pence per kilowatt-hour, but that isn’t enough to effectively subsidise the owner's bill for a good return on investment.

“We are expecting a big year this year. We’re looking to offer a new sector of employment – as this grows, we’re looking to recruit in 2015.”

Photo by Glen Perotte working with Jersey Business