Jaguar Land Rover Showroom Gets Pilot Rooftop Solar System

A PILOT rooftop solar system has been installed at a flagship Jaguar Land Rover showroom in Dublin.

The innovative DC-optimized rooftop solar system, from SolarEdge, will provide clean, reliable power to the site’s Jaguar Land Rover showroom and a newly built EV preparation centre at the same site.

The Spirit Motor Group, the retail division of OHM Group, a car distributor and retailer in the Republic of Ireland, installed the solar system in a bid to “align with the growing demands of the electric vehicle (EV) retail market”.

Rooftop Solar System

The 470-panel solar system is expected to generate around 160MWh of electricity each year. This is forecasted to offset approximately 50% off the site’s high energy use, saving over €50,000 annually. Payback is expected in less than three years.

OHM’s decision to invest in solar followed a sharp rise in the company’s electricity bills. Gerard O’Farrell, Managing Director of Car Division at OHM Group, said: “With the motor industry transitioning from ICE to electric vehicles, our business needs have evolved. Our energy usage has gone up by 50% in the last two years alone, and we expect this increase to continue.

“Installing solar systems will not only support our increased electricity requirements for EV charging but also underscores our commitment to sustainability. Through this project we’re hoping to set a new standard in the automotive industry.”

The solar plant at the Dublin facility comprises two separate arrays: 260 modules are installed on the Jaguar Land Rover showroom and a further 210 modules are sited on the new EV preparation centre workshop.

Solar Payback

Key to achieving such a rapid payback period for this project was the company’s use of SolarEdge’s DC-optimised inverter technology. The solar system uses Power Optimizers attached to each pair of solar modules to issue alerts about underperformance caused by issues such as soiling, shading and module mismatch. The Power Optimizers also allow the monitoring system to provide highly granular data on module and system performance. This enables OHM Group to track energy production and consumption across the two buildings and multiple EV charging stations in real-time.

The company has installed a live feed to show visitors how much energy is being generated and the associated carbon offset.

Eight More Showrooms

“As the installation is a pilot for us, before we embark on further solar installations, we wanted to monitor the system closely,” explains Gerard. “The SolarEdge solution has advanced inbuilt monitoring which enables us to identify and address any underperforming modules quickly, streamlining maintenance requirements and enabling us to maximise the uptime of the system.

“We are incredibly pleased with the results we’ve seen so far. During the summer months, daily generation peaked at more than 1MW on occasions and regularly exceeded 800 kW. Based on these results, we have already begun to plan the roll-out of solar systems on eight more of our showrooms, both at our Dublin site and others located throughout the country.”

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