Leading renewable energy developer Dulas has completed work on the second phase of a 2.5 MW solar project which will provide energy for Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water’s Five Fords waste water treatment works in Wrexham.

Dulas has already installed almost 8,000 PV panels on the Wrexham site during phase one of the project. As part of the deal, it installed a further 2,100 panels by the end of December.

The project will help the water company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint - renewable energy generation plays a key role in the utilities’ carbon footprint reduction activities.

With a thirty-year track record , Dulas has developed a series of successful partnerships with major utilities and suppliers in order to enable them to meet compliance targets and unlock the long-term commercial benefits of renewable energy use.

Mike Pedley, Head of Energy, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water said:

“Working with Dulas, we’ve not only got a reliable, cost effective low carbon reduction solution, but also improved energy resilience at this critical works.”

The site chosen for the Five Fords project was poor quality land that offered no further commercial benefits, but nevertheless proved ideal for solar installation.

The work undertaken by the renewable specialist has enabled Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water to make use of the land and reduce the energy footprint of the waste water treatment site, installing a total of almost 10,000 solar panels and delivering 2.5 MW of clean energy to the utility.

The project will help Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water meet its 2007 carbon reduction targets of at least 50% by 2032, and paves the way for other large-scale utilities to make use of available land for future renewable energy projects.

Alistair Marsden, Commercial Director at Dulas commented:

“As UK utility firms come under increasing pressure to optimise energy use, reduce their carbon footprint and comply with increasingly stringent government regulation, it’s apparent that, for many operational sites, it’s no longer business as usual.”

“The solar panels Dulas has installed for Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, on otherwise commercially redundant land, have been a major step towards enabling the utility company to keep its carbon reduction plan on track.”

Mike Pedley added:

“It’s no secret that traditional water treatment works are energy intensive operations that provide critical services to local communities, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.”

“So at Five Fords we are creating an innovative Energy Park that will maximize the sustainability of the plant. With these 10,0000 panels now fully operational, Dulas have delivered one of the key components of that Energy Park vision and it has been good to work with a partner that understood our goals and our culture as a not-for-profit organisation.”

“Working with Dulas, we’ve not only got a reliable, cost effective low carbon reduction solution, but also improved energy resilience at this critical works.”