Swindon & Wiltshire News
Europe’s first solar car park with carbon-friendly construction to open in Wiltshire
Europe’s first solar car park built with an innovative carbon-friendly construction material is to open at the Five Rivers Health & Wellbeing Centre in Salisbury.
Opening to the public in April, the 3ti’s solar car park will contribute over 10 per cent of the centre’s overall electricity usage and save £50,000 on annual bills.
The solar installation comprises three gull-wing solar canopies covering 70 car park spaces, with a combined total capacity of around 220 kWp.
In its first year, the Five Rivers SCP is expected to generate 186MWh of electricity, enough to drive 679,856 miles in a modern EV, saving 36 tonnes of carbon emissions – the equivalent of planting nearly 600 trees and powering 50 homes.
The structure is made from Glulam, renewable, recyclable wood laminations bonded together to offer a natural alternative to steel or concrete – a European first for a solar car park.
The engineered timber is three times stronger and a third lighter than structural steel, and uses only a tenth of the energy it would take to produce an equivalent steel beam, contributing to a more sustainable building process.
The material has minimal environmental impact from its production, is highly repairable, and is an excellent biofuel at the end of its life, further minimising waste.
Five Rivers has also become the first leisure centre in the UK to install 3ti’s award-winning Papilio3 pop-up solar car park that can fast charge up to 12 EVs simultaneously.
Philip McMullan, senior technical lead on major energy projects at Wiltshire Council, said: “We have invested heavily in sustainability to achieve our 2030 carbon neutral goals.
“The new solar installations at Five Rivers will help reduce our carbon footprint and support the local community with the transition to zero-emission motoring by strengthening the county’s EV charging infrastructure.”
Tim Evans, founder & CEO at 3ti, said: “Our job is to champion workplace and destination EV charging to promote a ‘charge where you stop’ mentality across the UK, while supporting customers to achieve their sustainability goals.
“Better EV charging infrastructure at destinations with long dwell times – offices, hospitals and leisure facilities like Five Rivers – will encourage greater EV adoption rates; it’s refreshing to see Wiltshire Council adopting such a forward-thinking approach, and we are honoured to play a part in their sustainability vision.
“We are constantly evolving our SCP products and are proud to feature these innovative new designs, construction materials and techniques at Five Rivers. Introducing these features means we can offer better durability and versatility than conventional materials and significantly reduce carbon emissions generated across the entire product lifecycle.
“This installation marks a major milestone on our journey to supporting customers and society as a whole.”
Read more: Swindon’s Link Centre is going green with the installation of rooftop solar panels.
