As the UK cools from record temperatures, the UK’s leading designer, installer, funder and operator of Solar Car Parks (SCPs), 3ti, has provided a timely reminder of the significant power of the sun – and how it can be put to more positive effect on the environment.
Since its installation at the end of May, the prototype of 3ti’s world’s first pop-up mini solar car park and electric vehicle (EV) charging hub, ‘Papilio3’, has generated sufficient solar power to drive an average family EV in excess of 20,000 miles, or over twice the average UK driver’s annual mileage.
“Solar is an abundant source of renewable energy – yield from our first Papilio3 unit at Surrey Research Park has already topped 4.86MWh, and all 12 charging points have been in regular use,” said Tim Evans, 3ti founder and CEO.
Indeed, in June the first Papilio3 unit generated 2.36MWh and is on track to exceed this figure in July. Currently, this represents a 53% PV Generation to EV Charging ratio, although this will reduce throughout the year and expected to average around 20% after the winter.
“The most recent International Energy Agency statistics show that, thanks to higher solar and wind power generation, renewable electricity production is up by 9.8% year-on-year across all Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, but there is still plenty of room for further improvement,” Evans continued.
Papilio3 is built around a recycled shipping container, can be deployed within 24 hours and integrates the three technologies of 3ti: solar electricity generation, battery energy storage systems (capacity of up to 250 kWh) and EV charging points (of 7, 11 and 22 kW).
Papilio3 is built around a recycled shipping container.
“SCPs have already displayed vast potential as a method of generating renewable energy,” Evans added.
“In June, for example, just one of our customer sites produced 290MWh from a 2.2 MWp solar array. At current prices that’s over £65,000 worth of electricity.”
The first 3ti crowdfunding round opened on June 23rd and exceeded its initial £500,000 target within an hour of going live publicly. The fund will accelerate the roll-out of Papilio3, enable expansion of the 3ti team and underpin continued clean energy technology development.
With a week left before closing on 31st July, the company has tripled its investment target on the Crowdcube platform to £1.5 million.
The 3ti team is responsible for the two largest SCPs in the UK, at Bentley Motors, Crewe and JP Morgan Chase, Bournemouth, is working on multi-site projects for the Ministry of Defence and has already installed 9.57 MW of solar PV across circa 2,500 parking spaces around the country.
