This nature reserve was awarded an OxFutures grant to install solar panels on their south-west facing roof.

The Site

The hub of the British watercress industry in the 20th Century, Ewelme is a picturesque and historical 6.5 acre site which has been owned by the Chiltern Society since 1992 and is conserved beautifully by volunteers.

Although the site was once an active watercress farm selling produce nationwide until 1988, it is now a nature reserve allowing the local wildlife population to thrive. The organisation has been awarded a grant to install solar panels on their south-west facing roof.

The Installation

Excluding the scaffolding, Sims Solar completed the installation in just over one and a half days on Tuesday 1 March 2022; this meant that minimum disruption was felt by the site and operations could continue as normal.

The array consists of ten 375W panels and is projected to generate 2804 kWh of electricity per year. The power generated from the solar panels will help power their on-site water source heat pump, building into a wider, more resilient infrastructure for sustainability.