LAMSON HQ GOES OFF GRID WHEN SUN'S UP
Industry trade partner The Lamson Group is running a solar farm of 767 panels on the rooftop of its Sefton factory, addressing a key part of its strategic plan to reduce its carbon footprint.
Image: The Lamson Group
The panels, installed in stages by SCE Energy Solutions over a period of four years, comprise one of the largest solar power installations in the industry, providing The Lamson Group with the ability to be totally off grid at its main site.
“Five years ago we decided to lead the trade market in our environmental footprint. Our partners were being asked about their supply chain and we wanted to be leaders to allow our partners to succeed. Our partners, which include print managers, printers, copy shops and mailing houses, are also increasingly keeping an eye on environmental impacts and carbon footprints, so it made sense to invest and to do the right thing,” says The Lamson Group CEO Rodney Frost.
“In November 2018, we installed our first system of 312 panels on one of the roofs and we let that tick along for a couple of years, just to make sure that it performed as proposed. We decided to invest in a full solar farm on all of the available roof space that we have to be able to cater for more than what we currently require.”
“The solar power installation has led into something we're proud of, in terms of doing the right thing for the environment – when the sun's up our main site is off the grid,” he adds, pointing out that as far he knows, The Lamson Group is the only trade only business that is totally off the grid at its main site.
Frost says that in terms of savings, there has been a four and a half year return. The 767 panels receive just under 305KW per hour and so far, have been able to save 235 tonnes of CO2 a year.
“Ultimately, however it's not only about the cost savings. It's also trying to do the right things for the right reasons,” he says.
Frost can see how the move towards reducing CO2 emissions can benefit others in the industry and hopes that The Lamson Group can act as a role model and leader in the environmental sector, offering advice to other companies going the same route.
“This is something that's not competitive in nature. It's a collective incentive for the greater good and those generations ahead. And, as power prices go up, it's a way to get on the front foot of energy saving,” he says.
“I'm happy to talk to anyone that is considering going through the process just to give them a heads up on what to be careful of. It’s not a hard process to have a look and find out what your return and CO2 reduction will be. The technology is precise, and within a couple of months an ROI can be obtained to see how long it's going to take to see a payback and how many tonnes of carbon footprint you're going to reduce.”
The Lamson Group website shows live statistics, and is transparent about what is being generated, which Frost says is something to be proud of.
“All of the information about our CO2 savings and power generation is available on our website. If you go into the environment section on the site, you can see the statistics of what every single panel is generating live. That's pretty cool technology,” he concludes.
