Specialist building envelope manufacturer and installer, CA Group, has been shortlisted in the category of Commercial Renewables Project of the Year for its role in supplying and installing the world’s largest SolarWall® Transpired Solar Collector (TSC) for Marks and Spencer, at the retail giant’s 80,000m² East Midlands Distribution Centre (EMDC) in Castle Donington. The revolutionary solar air heating system has the lowest capital cost and the highest known efficiency of any active solar technology in the world, generating in excess of 500 Watts of thermal energy per square meter on a clear day (Dr. Chuck Keutcher, U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)). Andrew Brewster, CA Group Technical Design Engineer, explained: “SolarWall® has the quickest ROI of any renewable technology currently available, with payback periods as low as three years on new build and eight years on retrofit applications. So, as well as being an excellent option from an environmental perspective, it is also one which makes good commercial sense.” SolarWall® is a globally recognised renewable technology, used in over 35 countries across six continents. In the UK, as part of its ongoing development and accreditation, the technology has received the independent endorsement of five leading authorities including Oxford Brookes University, the Welsh Assembly, Cardiff University, BSRIA and BRE. The technology works by harnessing the sun’s energy to pre-heat fresh, outside air, which is then delivered into the building’s heating system, dramatically reducing the overall heating requirement and providing significant savings in energy consumption and carbon emissions. In fact, following its completion and final commissioning, the 4,500m² SolarWall® installation for Marks and Spencer is expected to reduce the building’s energy consumption by 30% and its heating requirement by somewhere in the region of 40%, by generating more than 1,135,000 kWh and saving over 256t of CO2 per annum. CA Group is leading the charge in the field of sustainable development and was recently recognised for its diversification into green business activities by the government’s low carbon business initiative: Operation Green. The company has seen a significant uptake in solar air heating, mainly because of the very tangible results which the technology delivers, and has successfully completed major SolarWall® projects for some of the UK’s most well known brands. For example, the company’s successful installation of SolarWall® at the Jaguar Land Rover technical training academy, in Leamington Spa, delivers savings of more than 80,000 kWh in energy per year, which equates to 19 tons of CO2. Brewster concluded: “SolarWall® is an excellent example of the very latest in renewable solutions which really deliver. The recognition by the Renewables Awards of the technology, which has been selected by such a trusted and respected brand committed to reducing its emissions, represents a real milestone. “We’re confident that the addition of SolarWall® will be instrumental in positioning the Marks and Spencer EMDC facility at the forefront of sustainable construction and energy efficiency.” CA Group worked alongside the project design team, which included the developer, architect and project consultant, from conceptual design right through to project completion.
