The National Ice Centre Complex

Installing a system of this size onto site with lots of visitors provided a challenge for our expert engineering design team. It required an innovative solution in order to complete it without the arena’s schedule being disrupted.

OUR SOLUTION

The aesthetics of the project was a major priority, as the arena is one of Nottingham’s most recognisable landmarks; we knew the pressure was on to get it looking perfect. Connection shutdowns were carried without incident and the installation ran smoothly without disruption to the day to day running of the site. The project was completed on time, and was commissioned with no issues at all.

We were able to accommodate schedules of work to fit around public events taking place at the arena. This was a bespoke project that involved a mixture of day and night work to accommodate the required schedule of works, liaising with external contractors and suppliers due to G59 units and witness testing carried out on site.

THE RESULT

A year later, the National Ice Centre confirmed that the system has generated 224,000 kWh of electricity in the first year: 10% higher than predicted. This system performance has allowed them to cut almost £40,000 off their energy bills in just 12 months. This adds up to an increased annual CO2 saving of 118,500 kg for the 10,000-capacity venue, which consumes more than 4,000,000 kWh each year.

Due to the success of the installation, two years later, the National Ice Centre contacted us for a 2nd installation to extend their current system by a further 112.75 kWp (451 x Sharp 250W panels) to 362.35 kWp. This was installed on the rooftop of the office buildings that sit in-between the National Ice Centre and the Motorpoint Arena.