1.58MW Commercial Solar Panel Installation For QuidelOrtho, Bridgend, Wales
The Brief
Quidel Ortho contacted Excel Energy as they were looking to transform their facility’s energy infrastructure by integrating solar power.
Quidel Ortho is a leading pharmaceutical manufacturing company, located in Pencoed, Bridgend, Wales. With a focus on innovation and quality, they play a crucial role in providing healthcare solutions worldwide. As a leading company in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, Quidel Ortho are not only looking to be innovative within the products they are manufacturing but also in their manufacturing procedures and facilities.
This initiative of installing commercial solar panels to their facility in Wales would not only reduce their carbon footprint but also enhance operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness, demonstrating how the industry could work in the near future.
The Outcome
The project ran seamlessly, from design to commissioning, and the client was left incredibly happy with the work completed.
Quidel Ortho faced obstacles at the preliminary stage of the feasibility study with other contractors that were involved. Once Excel Energy were involved, we were able to alleviate these problems, allowing the team at Quidel to focus their attention on their business.
“It has been a pleasure working with Nick, Andy and the installation team. The Excel Energy Team were professional throughout, and we had no issues at all with them on-site. I would have no hesitation recommending Excel Energy to any client, whether industrial or domestic because the experience we have had has been amazing, and I can’t imagine there being any better installer in the UK.”
As a renowned provider of sustainable energy solutions specialising in solar power systems for commercial and industrial clients, you can trust us with your solar system project. With a commitment to excellence and safety, Excel Energy delivers turnkey solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of each client, offering bespoke solutions with high-quality products that perform efficiently.
Contact our team today for a non-obligation consultation. Call our team on 020 3834 9440 or complete our contact form.
Hi, I am Karl James. I am the Facilities Manager and Quidel Ortho Diagnostics in Pencoed in South Wales.
It has been a pleasure working with Nick Neza, Andy Gardner and the installation team at Excel Energy. The primary reason for investing in renewable energy at the Pencoed site was to reduce the carbon footprint of the business.
Here at Quidel Ortho, we are high users of electricity, and we also have large roof spaces, so it made sense to select PV as our source of renewable energy. We were able to install a 1.58 megawatt peak photovoltaic SolarEdge system. The system should generate an estimated 1.41 gigawatt hours of renewable energy annually.
Excel Energy were chosen because they were the only company that gave us the confidence that they could install a project within the set parameters that we had. I think most companies would have taken six to 12 months or at least six to eight months to install a project. And the time frame we gave Nick was something like two to three months. So, although other companies were telling us that they could achieve that, Nick’s company was the only company that gave us the belief and the confidence that he could actually meet that timeframe.
So, in the initial parts of the project, at the preliminary design of the project, we had many issues. Some of the issues were to do with sourcing materials because the PV industry was booming and it was difficult to get parts. It was also difficult to get service off people to look at the preliminary design, so it was very challenging at the beginning of the project.
However, when we had Excel Energy involved these problems seemed to be alleviated by Nick’s contacts in the industry and his ability to be proactive with things. It just made my job as a project engineer with a project, much simpler to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
As a pharmaceutical company, we are quite vigorous on standards and quality of installation or production area and the same applied to the PV installation. Nick gave us the confidence, again, that the installation would be of a quality that met our needs and he demonstrated that quite admirably during the installation.
We even had comments from other installation vendors for other projects on-site at the time that Excel Energy were on-site, who commented on how good and how professional the installation was.
During the time they were on site, with other contractors typically we would have issues with complaints from staff, complaints that they have used the canteen facilities and, you know, we did not get any complaints at all. In fact, we even had positive comments from members of staff, about the way they conducted themselves on-site in the facility and outside the facility.
So, during the whole period of the project, from the initial erection of the scaffolding to the final witnessing that we had of the system by SSE, the Excel Energy team were professional throughout and we had no issues at all with them on-site.
I would have no hesitation recommending Excel Energy to any client, whether industrial or domestic, because the experience we have had onsite here has been amazing and I can’t imagine it’d be a better service off any other PV installer, at the moment, in the UK.
Why Was Excel Energy Hired?
Excel Energy was chosen for the project due to several key factors:
Timely Delivery
Expertise
Exceptional Service
Bespoke Solutions
Excel Energy’s team don’t offer a one-size-fits-all solution, instead creating bespoke solar panel solutions that meet the demand of the client. We work hard to truly understand the needs of our client and the facility before using our wealth of knowledge and design systems to produce a high-performance solution that will generate the energy needed for the company to work efficiently and without problems.
Aftercare Maintenance
Whilst installations are completed to an incredibly high standard, Excel Energy offers great aftercare services, including system maintenance, ensuring the longevity and efficiency of the installed solar power system.
What Did We Do?
QuidelOrtho required our turnkey solar panel solution for their facility.
We began the process by visiting the site to complete a detailed site survey where we assessed the roof space, solar mounting bracketry, AC connections, cable run and energy requirements. This would dictate the system that we would recommend.
With all the information gathered, our team designed a solution that included the use of Premium REC Twin-peak 410wp solar modules and SolarEdge synergy inverters with S1000 SolarEdge optimisers.
The client was satisfied with the proposed system, so we arranged a date to complete the implementation of the system. The team spent 52 days installing the solar panels on the roof of the facility and 16 days installing the AC side of inverters.
Once the system was commissioned and eye-witnessed in compliance with G99 and G100 regulations, we ran through the system and trained the necessary staff on how the system works. This included informing them of signals and symbols that occur on the monitoring platform, use of the online monitoring platform and how to use the apps that work alongside the systems to measure performance.
