Car park’s brace of batteries retain renewable green energy
A pair of batteries have been added to a busy district park and ride car parking facility to store the excess green energy generated at the site.
Winchester City Council has installed two batteries at Barfield Phase II Park and Ride to store the excess energy generated by the car park’s solar electricity panels, also known as photovoltaics (PV).
Solar PVs capture the sun's energy and convert it into electricity. Barfield Phase II has an array of the panels on its roof and these contribute electricity for the car park’s needs including its 16 electric vehicle charging points (EVCPs).
The batteries store the energy generated by the panels during the day which is then used overnight to reduce power drawn from the grid.
The initial installation of the PVs at Barfield Phase II was supported by EM3 Local Enterprise Partnership.
Cllr Kelsie Learney, Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency, said: “Barfield Phase II is the first car park in Winchester to have solar panels generating enough electricity to cover all the equipment and lighting in the building – as well as enabling any electric cars in the car park to be charged.
“Now it has this pair of batteries to store its excess, making electric car charging at the site fully renewable. This marks a key milestone in our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint as part of our carbon neutral action plan, and to go greener faster.”