M Group Services Plant & Fleet Solutions, a part of M Group Services, has invested in a number of solar pods that will reduce carbon emissions, noise and fuel use on operational sites used by a number of the Group’s operating businesses.
The solar pods were commissioned as part of M Group Services Plant & Fleet Solutions’ remit to support the Group’s multiple operating businesses that deliver essential infrastructure services within the UK’s transport water, energy, and telecommunication sectors.
The AJC solar pod is a hybrid solar power generator. The pods are designed to substantially reduce harmful airborne emissions and significantly lower fuel bills by harvesting the sun’s energy to provide free sustainable power to a site. To secure uninterrupted power, the solar pods are fitted with a super-silenced back-up diesel generator.
The solar pod’s 30kW output is automatically managed and facilitates the seamless power distribution within the pod between the large solar panels, large battery banks and the back-up generator. The solar pod has ‘dial in’ diagnostics so its performance and operation can be monitored and controlled from a PC, laptop or smartphone.
Morrison Utility Services (MUS), the UK’s largest, dedicated utility services provider, is the first of the Group’s business to trial the solar pods. Selected operational sites on the Thames Water, Edinburgh Trams, and Yorkshire Water contracts are among those using the pods as a sustainable source of alternative energy.
Trials of the solar pods at both Yorkshire Water’s Ripon depot and in Scotland on the Edinburgh Tram contract proved to be a great success with results revealing a saving of approximately 17,000 litres of fuel over a six-month period, and a reduction of CO2 emissions by up to 50 tonnes per unit.
Additional solar pods are being rolled out over the coming months, adding to the electric diggers and vehicles already in use across M Group Services Plant & Fleet Solutions in its effort towards large-scale carbon reduction.
Mark Hamilton, Director of Operations for M Group Services Plant & Fleet Solutions, said: “Our people work in every environment, from the busiest urban areas, to the remotest, and we recognise that minimising our environmental impact is a priority.
“We are continually looking to identify new ways of helping us to achieve this important objective and the investment we have made in these solar pods are just one example of our ever growing awareness of how we can address our carbon footprint and emission output as a Group. We’re delighted with the environmental and commercial benefits that the pods have already delivered and we look forward to utilising them across further client contracts across the Group in the future.”
AJC National Account Manager, Mark Samuel, said: “We were extremely pleased to learn that the trials of our Solar Pods were completed successfully and that M Group Services Plant & Fleet Solutions have chosen to make this investment. The sites where the pods are in place will now benefit from a cleaner environment and enjoy lower fuel costs.”
