ABP Solar Farm to reduce South Wales footprint

ABP South Wales has been investing in environmentally friendly renewable energy projects at all five South Wales ports. The port operator expects this latest project to produce enough annual energy to power 2,000 homes, although it will also go towards powering port operations.

“It is designed to reduce the carbon footprint of the port and make it more competitive,” said Matthew Kennerley, director, ABP South Wales. “We are committed to the environment and are continually thinking about how we can integrate the latest renewable energy technology into our port operations.”

The 14,904 solar panels were installed by the Solar Division of British Gas, who completed the work between March and June 2015. ABP South Wales also worked with ExCAL to develop the solar farm site.

Going forward, ABP already has plans to extend the solar farm to 5MWp. The project has also been shortlisted for a Wales Green Energy award in the ‘Outstanding Renewable Energy Project Category’.

The Port of Barry contributes £231m to the local economy every year and supports over 3,000 local jobs. In 2014 the port handled over 400,000 tonnes of cargo.