Breakers Country Club

Smart Commercial Solar were introduced by solar car shade manufacturer Solar Car Parks. Upon the club's board giving the green light to proceed, SCP brought in Smart to provide the full turnkey solution.

The project is made up of 4 bays of 'double sided' shade structures covering a total of 86 car spaces. The design needed to fit within the constraints of the existing lanes, car bays and ultimately, the services underneath the car park. The footings are designed to sit flush with the carpark surface, creating a seamless integration with the ground, in the event where a footing was required above a service the team were able to use a bridge footing and maintain the design. Smart worked with expert contractors and suppliers to build a turnkey solution including led lighting and CCTV cameras.

The club had initially planned on paying for the project out of pocket, however once the idea of a Power Purchase Agreement was outlined this became the preferred procurement method. The project was ultimately delivered under a 20 year PPA with a small upfront contribution from the club, this ensured the PPA Rate (which is a fixed rate for the length of the term) was well under their market energy rate. This financial forecast was vetted by an external energy broker and gave the Club energy price security for a long time.

Smart delivered the project whilst the club was in lockdown, this enabled the project to push forward with no impact to the clubs patrons. It is unusual that the team would have access to the entire carpark at one time, these projects are usually staged out to avoid disrupting 100% of the carpark, however this allowed the team to swiftly install the system. The car shade structures were erected within 3 days and 1 week later the solar panels were fixed into place. The entire project was delivered by a team of 5 people and compact lifting equipment.

By using bi-facial modules we were able to significantly increase the yield of the system whilst improving the aesthetics of the site. Every bay has been fitted with LED lighting and a CCTV system powered by solar with inverters placed safely away from patrons. The car shade PV would be integrated with the existing 100kW system and with all maintenance and service carried out by Smart.