Bracknell, UK

CLS Holdings are a FTSE 250 commercial property investment company with a £2.1bn portfolio, specialising in office space in the UK, Germany and France.

PROJECT GOAL

CLS Holdings wanted to reduce the carbon footprint of Reflex House, a 1980s office block in Bracknell, currently occupied by Honda UK. The landlord recharges the tenant for the energy consumed within the common areas, the gym, and the café at Reflex House, so there was a good opportunity to reduce their Scope 2 CO₂ emissions, while also reducing the tenant’s service charge.

CHALLENGE

Lack of information on the asset’s structural capabilities: Reflex House was designed and built in the late 1980s and there was minimal information regarding the roof sheet or the structural capacity of the roof. Most of the existing documentation had to be updated, and there was little clarity on the building’s current compatibility for a rooftop PV system.

SOLUTION

Project management and engaging external specialists: Longevity acted as project managers to evaluate the building’s capability to support a rooftop PV system. The team engaged with the original architects of the building to identify the exact roof type to ensure that the clamps would be compatible and able to withstand the calculated wind loadings. Longevity also engaged a specialist structural engineer to advise on the location of the expansion joint within the building to ensure that none of the panels crossed this divide, as this can ultimately lead to panel damage.

Over a six-week period, Longevity planned and managed the installation of 357 panels across 571 m² of roof space. Longevity worked closely with the building team to manage the project and minimise disruption for occupiers. The array was connected to the electricity supply in June 2018, with all electricity feeding into the common area of the building.

BENEFITS

Due to our support, CLS Holdings were able to:

• Establish an IRR of 12%, and return of £220,000 over a 20-year lifespan This included the Feed-In Tariffs, and mitigated savings for electricity costs.
• Provide £2,000 annual service charge savings for occupiers.
• Save 23 tonnes CO₂e a year for the asset.
• Generate 81,600 kWh of renewable energy per year, by a 96.4 kWp array.
• Decarbonise the gym and café, by powering 82% of its total electricity consumption with solar energy.