Wallingford: Running on solar at Howbery Park

Howbery Business Park has installed electric vehicle charging points which use the Polar network of over 6,500 charge points nationwide.

The new charge points, which are designed for use by the park’s businesses and employees, use on-site electricity, of which more than 25% per year is generated by the adjacent solar farm. Howbery Park was the UK’s first solar business park, with 3,000 ground-mounted solar panels connected to the National Grid.

The park has put sustainability at the heart of its development plans. Its flagship buildings, Kestrel House and Red Kite House, are both BREEAM excellent rated, and have environmentally friendly features, such as the use of bore hole water to provide natural air conditioning.

Donna Bowles, estates manager for Howbery Business Park, said: “In May, almost 42% of the park’s electricity was generated by the solar farm. In fact, for several days in May, the park was running on completely solar-generated electricity. We are always really thrilled when the park is grid-free, and it’s good for users of our electric vehicle charge points to know that on some sunny days during the summer, for example, their charge could be 100% solar-powered.”