Background
RSK Renewables won the tender for a bespoke rooftop solar and ground-mounted solar carports project at a boutique office complex in Reading in late 2022. The client team included the building owners and several firms of professional advisers responsible for interfacing with facilities management on-site. The retrofit aspects of the project required significant design inputs and construction management for civil works at a live site occupied by several multinational telecom companies.
The site had recently undergone a £20-million refurbishment, including EV charging facilities, and the solar PV scheme was seen as key to the overall greening of the property under its Campus Reading branding.
Challenges
Limited load-bearing roof
Our system was designed to meet limited roof load capacity using ballasted aerodynamic structures to support the solar PV panels. We liaised with the original building engineers to determine safe loading areas required to crane-lift materials onto the roof and for staging during construction.
Poor ground and block paving
The site was made up of ground with a near-to-surface water table and unstable clay soil. The entire parking area was finished with block paving, which is a major challenge for reinstatement. Originally, it was assumed pile foundations would be adequate for the carports. However, upon considering pile-caps costs, larger concrete slabs were determined to be more viable. The slabs, built in challenging weather and with numerous below-ground services and drainage, required careful excavations.
Performance target
The project specification required a high solar system performance ratio. To achieve this, our team used the latest higher output bifacial solar PV panels on the carports, which also gave an excellent aesthetic finish and daylighting below the canopies.
The impact
We worked closely with the client throughout the project and overcame various challenges in design and implementation. The team maintained environmental and safety aspects of working on a fully occupied office development. The contribution of on-site generation will reduce reliance on traditional grid supply while driving an increase in carbon performance that fits with the client’s strategic commitments. This is also likely to contribute to tenancy recruitment and retention going forward.