Ireland's largest solar PV system by SALIIS Renewables has been completed at Bombardier's wing facility in Belfast.

The 3.6-megawatt system, featuring 14,000 solar PV panels, is housed on the roof of Bombardier's 50,000 sq m wing facility and is equivalent to the size of 10 football pitches. The system cost approximately £3.5m and took ten weeks to install.

Working on the highly specialised design of the system from early 2014, Michael Burke, Managing Director of SALIIS Renewables explained the challenges and solutions in creating Ireland's largest solar PV installation:

"Due to the location of the Bombardier site (which is adjacent to Belfast's George Best City Airport), the height of the building and sheer scale of the project, we designed a number of unique features that were required to prepare the building for the install and to ensure health and safety were paramount at all times."

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As the biggest installation in Ireland and the third biggest roof top installation in the UK, the solar PV system at Bombardier is expected to generate three million KWhs of electricity annually.

Mr Burke continued: "At its peak we had over 50 employees and sub-contractors working at a height of 18 metres on this installation. In preparation, we designed a system to create a safe working environment for all involved.

"This included the construction of a 1.2 kilometre safety handrail system around the exterior of the wing facility and a bespoke stairwell."

SALIIS Renewables also worked with German company, AmbiVolt Energietechnik, to commission a specially-engineered structure, which would withstand high winds, on which the panels were mounted.

Another distinct aspect of this project was the funding model in which SALIIS brokered a SPPA agreement (Solar Power Purchase Agreement) to the benefit of all parties.

SALIIS created the funding mechanism, whereby a leading UK investment fund, Oxford Capital, financed the 14,000 panels and installation of the system.

In return for funding the entire solar PV system, Oxford Capital operates and maintains the photovoltaic (PV) system, through SALIIS Renewables. Bombardier will then purchase the system's electric output from the solar services provider for a predetermined period.

Over the next 25 years, SALIIS Renewables is responsible for the maintenance and remote monitoring of the system, ensuring its optimal performance at all times.