Agenda item

Mr. McHenry provided an update on a Shared Island project, undertaken in partnership between Belfast and Cork City Council, to explore the potential for Solar PV on Council buildings.

Mr. Pagani provided the Committee with information on the background and expertise of GIA in the Solar PV industry. He stated that the company had over thirty years of experience in the business and that their specialism was the harnessing of energy from  both sunlight and daylight. The Members were informed that GIA’s research and development team had allowed them to develop technology to generate solar electricity from a diverse range of roof areas, in a city environment, and to do so within a framework of accuracy and scale.

Mr. McHenry provided the Committee with an overview of the research undertaken in regard to the ten Council buildings selected for potential rooftop Solar PV installation. He stated that, as part of that detailed investigation, an assessment had been undertaken using two methodologies namely:

1.     A standard Assessment procedure; and

2.     A Climate Based Daylight Modelling technique.

The Members were informed that €500 million had been set aside for capital funding covering the period 2021-2025, some of which had been earmarked for the North/South climate initiative between Belfast and Cork.  Mr. McHenry highlighted the different attributes associated with the various solar panels on the market, currently, including conversion and output efficiencies.  He stated that it was estimated that the Northern Ireland spend was £8.7 billion on energy per annum and referred to the potential savings associated with the increased use of solar PV panels across the city.

It was reported that 160,000 households were in fuel poverty, and he referred to the targets and timescales, specified within the Climate Act (NI) 2022, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Mr. Pagani provided the Committee with an outline of the Site Performance Assessment required to ascertain the viability and suitability of rooftops, across the city, to accommodate the installation of Solar PV Panels.  He referred to the labour-intensive exercise associated with determining which rooftop areas were suitable for Solar VP adaptation, including shading and future building construction which could impede sunlight and the efficiency of the Solar PV panels. Mr. Pagani referred to the technology used to separate the various components of a rooftop surface area in order to maximise the usable space for the installation of rooftop Solar PV panels.

            Mr. McHenry provided the Members with a list of the various Council buildings which were under consideration for the installation of Solar PV panels and the potential estimated Solar PV generation, using both SAP and CBDM methodologies. The Committee was informed that, by using GIA, the Council was using the services of a company with a tried and trusted track record, with the capability to operate at scale. He stated further that the GIA operated with a high degree of accuracy in terms of its projected energy generation from the installation of its Solar PV panels.

            A Member stated that some of the savings attributed to the Girdwood Hub had the potential to form an integral part of the Council’s Leisure Transformation Programme. A further Member requested if there was comparative data in regard to the savings made in terms of energy costs associated with the installation of Solar PV panels in cities with a comparative climate profile to Belfast and what criteria was used to identify those sites identified for the potential installation of roof-top Solar PV panels.

            In response, Mr. McHenry stated that Council buildings, with the highest energy consumption, were used to identify where the highest energy cost savings could be realised. The Monitoring, Learning and Reporting Officer confirmed that the Council had undertaken an exercise, in conjunction with the energy team, to identify roof design which had included an off-site assessment of those selected buildings. She confirmed that the Council was progressing towards stage 2 of the funding application process.

            A Member raised a question in regard to the storage and redistribution of excess energy produced. In response, the Climate Commissioner reported that the Council’s Energy and Carbon Manager had confirmed that due to high infrastructure costs associated with energy storage and, given that the Council had the capacity to use all of the green energy produced, it was a more efficient use of resources to expand the installation of addition Solar PV panels.

            In response to a question from a Member in terms of comparative data with Cork city, the Monitoring, Learning and Reporting Officer stated that Belfast was ahead of Cork in terms of its data collection exercise and stated that the Committee would be provided with an update, on comparative progress, in terms of green energy production between the two cities. Mr. McHenry, in response to a further question from a Member, stated that, depending on quality and design, some PV panels could have a lifespan of up to twenty-five years with a projected average payback period of ten years.

            The Climate Commissioner stated that an application for stage two funding would provide the Council with the resources to commence the installation of roof-top Solar PV panels on those Council selected buildings. She stated that a comprehensive data collection exercise would be required, prior to submission of an application for phase two funding. In response to a question from a Member in regard to the potential restrictions on the installation of Solar PV panels and permitted development, Mr. McHenry stated that such a circumstance, should it arise, would be subject to the particular development proposal. He confirmed that the maintenance of Solar PV panels was minimal and that the Council might wish to engage with a maintenance contract to deliver that service.

            The Commissioner for Climate and City Resilience stated that she would consult in the matter with the Energy and Carbon Manager and report back, at a future date, with a proposal on the maintenance of Solar PV panels.

            The Committee was informed that individual commercial entities had diverse energy usage profiles in that, while the commercial sector tended to experience high energy usage, other sectors, such as leisure centres, tended to use energy beyond standard daytime hours. To that end, Mr. McHenry suggested that the Council might wish to consider energy storage and redistribution in order to guarantee a continuous supply of green energy to those commercial enterprises.

            The Monitoring, Learning and Reporting Officer reported that the Department for Energy  (DfE) had undertaken research in terms  of the potential cost savings associated with the installation of Solar PV panels on residential properties and agreed to report back, on the energy cost savings, associated with that project.

            The Chairperson, on behalf of the Committee, thanked the Members of GIA and the representative from Vu City for the detailed and informative presentation and they departed from the meeting.

Noted.