Gloucester Cathedral to install commercial sized solar PV system on its roof

Gloucester Cathedral, a building famous for hosting the Coronation of King Henry III, being the final resting place of King Edward II, and, more recently, appearing in three Harry Potter films and an episode of Sherlock, is set to become the oldest cathedral in the UK to install a commercial sized solar PV system on its roof.

Thanks to money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Gloucester Cathedral is about to undergo a £6million development project with the installation of solar PV front and center. Mypower, a Gloucestershire-based company, was awarded the contract to add 150 solar panels to the roof of the Cathedral. Specifically, the panels will be added to the 30-meter high Nave roof, which was built almost 1,000 years ago, and will be impossible to see from the surrounding area.

The Church of England’s Shrinking the Footprint campaign wants to reduce its carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. The Cathedral’s new 42kW solar array will contribute to the overall goal of the Church of England by reducing energy costs by 25% for the historic structure.

There are some significant shading issues, however, due to the Cathedral’s design. Mypower used animated graphics to demonstrate the shading at different times of the day and year in order to find the right balance between capital cost and electricity yield.

In early October, Mypower will begin installing the panels with commissioning following four weeks later.

Walgreens announced plans last week to build one of the nation's first net-zero retail stores. The Evanston, Ill., location will utilize solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal technology, LED lighting and ultra-high-efficiency refrigeration to produce energy equal to or greater than the building consumes.

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