Supporting our sustainability target, building work has begun on a solar farm the size of four football pitches at the Duke of Gloucester Barracks, South Cerney.
Due to be completed by September, the solar farm is expected to supply the barracks with one third of its electricity needs. Over the lifetime of the project this equates to saving the equivalent of 9,700 tonnes of carbon emissions (tCO2e), powering 9,892 homes or planting almost 160,000 trees.
The solar farm that will span approximately 2.3 hectares, is being installed and designed by 3ti. Over 50 employees will work on the project, installing over 3,000 panels at the Duke of Gloucester Barracks.
It is the second of four pilot sites delivered as part of ‘Project Prometheus’ to increase renewable energy across the Defence estate. The first project is based at the Defence School of Transport in Leconfield. 3ti will build a further two sites located at Rock Barracks in Suffolk and Baker Barracks on Thorney Island, Sussex.
Station Commander, Duke of Gloucester Barracks, Lieutenant Colonel Julia Symons says “Project PROMETHEUS is providing the Duke of Gloucester Barracks, South Cerney with a foothold into sustainable energy and a great opportunity for 29 Regiment RLC to take action in the fight against climate change as part of the 1(UK) Division Green Rhino project.
Project Prometheus is providing the Duke of Gloucester Barracks, South Cerney with a foothold into sustainable energy Lt Col Symons
We are excited about the future energy benefit for the Regiment and local community with this excellent pioneering project which will help the Army drive towards its ambition of Net Zero by 2050.”
The four Project Prometheus pilots will realise a combined £1M in efficiency savings and save circa 2,000 tCO2e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) per year. These cost savings will be reinvested into Army infrastructure and help to reach the Army’s ambition of Net Zero by 2050.
Donald Johnstone, Assistant Head, Sustainability and Utilities says: “Over the last two years the whole team have worked hard to realise Defence’s ambition to move to a more sustainable future with the roll out of large scale solar across our estate.
These four pilot sites mark an important first milestone and step change in that journey, as we adapt our capabilities to meet the challenges of climate change and display the sustainability leadership required to deliver the NZ50 goals, made especially more important in the year that the UK hosts COP26.”
Tim Evans, Founder and CEO at 3ti commented: “We are delighted to be involved in the “Prometheus” solar project rollout and are excited to be delivering three of the four projects. We have already started groundwork and ecological surveys at the Duke of Gloucester Barracks and look forward to working with the Ministry of Defence to support their sustainable initiatives.
“With a total installed capacity of 4.4MWp, these important projects highlight the commitment of the British Army to pursing renewable energy sources across its estate in the UK. We are extremely proud to be part of these projects”.