Press Release

8 February 2011

MITIE and A2Dominion harness Solar Power in Winchester

MITIE, the strategic outsourcing company, is undertaking a renewable energy project on the Winnall estate in Winchester on behalf of local social housing provider A2Dominion. 

MITIE offers a range of integrated energy management services from design to installation under the CarbonCare brand. 

The project, on behalf of A2Dominion, fully funded by Savills Solar involves the installation of photovoltaic (PV) roof mounted panels that use solar cells to convert energy from the sun into electricity. The installation consists initially of 200 pilot properties and began in December 2010. 

All homes with PV mounted panels will enjoy free electricity during daylight hours, which will make an enormous difference to residents in fuel poverty. The forecast saving per home per year is £150. In addition, the carbon footprint of each home is forecast to decrease by just under one tonne of CO2 per annum. 

The pilot phase began with an extensive survey of the roof area and loft space. Initial consultations and full briefing sessions were held with all the residents concerned, which allowed comprehensive designs to then be produced and a supply chain set in place.

The project team of 32 MITIE specialists includes engineers, electricians, supervisors and resident liaison officers working from a centrally located site office on the estate. 

The project is funded by Savills Solar who will receive income from feed-in tariffs for any excess energy generated by the panels. 

David Lingeman, Director of Property Services A2Dominion, commented:
“We are delighted to be working with MITIE and Savills Solar on this exciting pilot project which will deliver great benefits. “We are always looking for ways in which we can improve our existing properties and these PV solar panels are not only generating free electricity for our residents but helping us to reduce our carbon emissions.” 

Bruce Brunson, Technical Director of Savills Solar, said:
“Savills Solar and MITIE have invested considerably in developing a bespoke model to deliver solar PV to social housing tenants and to maximise the associated benefits for them. We are delighted that A2Dominion has selected us as their partner to deliver this.

“The response from tenants within the pilot phase has been tremendous, and we very much look forward to expanding this opportunity for A2Dominion and many other social landlords and tenants within the sector” 

Marcus Cox Project Director of MITIE added:
“I am very pleased that MITIE, in partnership with Savills Solar have carried out the design, supply and installation of Solar Panels to properties within the Winnall Estate.
“This innovative scheme will provide benefits to residents by significantly reducing their electricity bills as well as caring for the environment by preventing greenhouse gases.
“Our expertise in this emerging sector combined with the experience gained from this pilot study will enable us to refine our service delivery for subsequent phases” 

MITIE uses PV Sol, a specialist software to design the installation on the roof space and is micro-generation ( MCS) certificated. The MCS is an internationally recognised quality assurance scheme. 

-ENDS-

Notes for editors

What is MITIE?
We’re the strategic outsourcing company. What does that mean in practice? We manage facilities, properties and assets for our clients across the UK and beyond.

We work with our clients in three ways; some take full advantage of our whole range of expertise, others may only need one aspect of what we do:

Strategy and consultancy
+ Facilities and project management
+ Service delivery

Our strategic input can add value at the highest level by helping clients to manage their assets, while our practical management expertise can save customers money and reduce their carbon emissions. We work with a vast number of clients in every industry across both the public and private sectors and deliver the broadest range of services that can be found in one place: from integrated facilities management to engineering maintenance to lifecycle energy management and much more.

There’s a lot more to MITIE than you probably think. We’re a big company with big ambitions – a leading FTSE 250 support services business, with more than 56,000 people, revenues in excess of £1.7bn, and a reputation for being the best.

Visit us at www.mitie.com

 

A2Dominion 

The A2Dominion Group is one of the country’s leading providers of high quality housing. It provides over 33,000 homes across London and southern England with thousands in development. The Group offers a wide range of housing options including affordable rented, temporary, student, sheltered, supported and key worker accommodation. It also has homes for sale and shared ownership through the A2Dominion New Homes brand. Visit www.a2dominion.co.uk/newhomes for more information.