FORE Partnership is bringing some of the most innovative solar PV panels ever installed in the UK to Windmill Green in Manchester.
Energy generated will be used to power all of the lighting in the seven-storey building on the corner of Windmill Street and Mount Street in the city centre.
FORE’s highly sustainable office development will feature Sunpreme’s GxB380 Bifacial Smart Solar Panels, which are ideally suited for Manchester’s mixed climate.
The double glass solar panels are designed with bifacial advantage that absorbs light from both sides, boosting efficiencies by up to 20% by generating additional electricity through reflective light.
FORE is the first real estate developer in the UK to use Sunpreme’s high-tech solar panels, having also installed them at its Yorkshire House building in Leeds and at 58 Victoria Embankment in London.
Basil Demeroutis, FORE Managing Partner, said: “We have used Sunpreme products in a number of locations and they have incredible consistency, even with the mixed weather we can get in this country, particularly in Manchester.
“Given the reduction in feed-in tariffs, we need to find new ways to make the economics of installing solar PVs pay, and Sunpreme does exactly that.”
The company has formed a strategic channel partnership with FORE and is deploying its solar panels on FORE’s one million plus square feet of real estate. Manchester is FORE’s third building using Sunpreme technology. The partnership is designed to deliver advanced solar products and engineering support to select clients and installers.
FORE is planning on installing a display in the Windmill Green reception that showcases the various stages of manufacture of solar PVs, from silica to finished panel, in order to de-mystify the technology and bring it closer to the building’s tenants.
Windmill Green is set to become Manchester’s most sustainable multi-let office building when it opens its doors later this summer.
Expected to receive BREEAM’s top “Outstanding” rating for sustainability, the building will also be Manchester’s most digitally advanced, already having garnered WiredScore “Platinum” certification.
Surinder S. Bedi, Executive Vice President for Business Development, System Products and Quality & Reliability at Sunpreme, said: “We warmly welcome FORE to Sunpreme Channel Partnership and congratulate them on their commitment to high standards and helping clients reach their energy goal.
“The growing commercial, industrial, and residential markets are of strategic importance. Sunpreme bifacial smart panels are an industry game changer for landlords – with superior lifetime yields, and safest long-term energy investments – and allows us to broaden our reach further into these commercial rooftop markets, especially in northern climates with more variable weather patterns.
“Our solar panels have been tested and certified to withstand challenging environmental conditions, including extreme temperatures, snow load, wind, sand, salt mist, humidity, and we couple that with one of the best power warranties in the industry.”
Demeroutis added: “We are really pleased to have forged such a close partnership with Sunpreme. The have an incredible reputation for innovation and we really want to push such innovative technologies in our properties.”
Sunpreme, a global solar photovoltaic company that designs and manufactures proprietary panels, took the 2018 Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award. It is ranked among the top three performers in the global PV market, and has won seven of the top 10 rankings among thin-film PV products.
Sunpreme’s GxB380 Bifacial Smart Solar panels with integrated optimiser are the most advanced high efficiency panels available today and have received high marks for its innovative technology and world-class quality. They deliver the best cost performance value in the industry.
