Significant improvements have been made at our Sheaf Close, Northampton headquarters (see photograph below) to enable a greener, more efficient future by installing 104 x 425w solar panels alongside 15KWh battery storage. This will deliver optimal energy generation of 44.2 kw per hour, subject to the weather conditions.

 In March once the sun was shining, we generated 2.77MWh, using 2.20MWh ourselves and this was a self-dependency of over 26% for the month. We also provided the balance of 570KWh back to the grid. This has seen our energy drawn from the grid reduced from 9,200 KWh in March 2023 to only needing to 6,120KWh in March 2024.

Since the installation, we have generated a total of 6,600KWh and have reduced our carbon emissions by over 3 Tonnes of CO2. Also with the Battery storage, we have seen the stored energy being utilised until as late in the day as 10.30pm before grid supplied energy was needed.

All of these measures we hope to improve with long summer days and good weather.

 

The installation cost was £49,609 and this has been funded from savings made over the 10 years Sheaf Close has been open, as well as from grants received. The Board of Directors at Freemasons Hall Northampton Ltd hope to see this investment being paid back within a 7 year period from the savings achieved from using the self generated electricity, combined with any spare energy being sold back to the Grid.

Once this has happened, the Directors could then consider increasing the usage of the rest of the roof space to further expand the utilisation of available green energy for the future.

In addition, a similar solar installation has taken place our Huntingdon centre (see drone photograph below) and is nearing completion, with the registering of the building at Prior House with the suppliers in order to sell back the excess energy generated to the grid to be in place very shortly. This has been funded through support from Euston Rooms and also the Provincial Building Fund in order to save costs for members in the Huntingdon Centre for the future.

 

This will be a third major solar project successfully concluded within the Province, following on from the St Neots Masonic Centre ‘Goes Off Grid’ in Eaton Socon as reported in the previous article on 20th November 2022.
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