Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic the demand for warehouse space has surged as retailers and manufacturers reorganise their warehouse estates to take into account higher levels of online retail and move to a situation where their supply chains are less vulnerable by holding more inventory.
Currently, for units over 100,000 sq ft, there is currently 583m sq ft of warehouse space in the UK and by 2030 Savills Research estimate this figure will rise to 832m sq ft. This roof space offers a potential location to install roof top solar panels which could provide green energy back to the occupier of the building and therefore reduce their energy requirement from the grid.
However, over the last decade warehouses have become more advanced as occupiers look to gain efficiencies by investing in robotics and automation, which require large amounts of energy. This energy requirement is set to rise even further as logistics companies investment in electric vehicle fleets, which will require charging on site. Experts from Savills Earth are therefore currently working on the assumption that each additional 143 sq ft of logistics development requires an additional 1KVA of energy. This means that a new logistics park of 10m sq ft would require 70MVA of power.
Based upon our calculations the additional 250m sq ft of warehouse space that will be delivered by 2030 will have an energy need of 1.7m KVA, the equivalent of an additional 175,000 new homes being built.
What can warehouse developers do therefore to help offset this energy requirement? As a rule of thumb to produce 1KVA of energy requires 59 sq ft of solar panels, however we have to accept that not all of the roof space of a warehouse is usable for this purpose. Warehouses will have roof lights and may store plant and machinery required for the operation of the unit and there may be other considerations such as shading from other buildings and tree’s.
Working on the assumption that on average around 40% of a warehouse roof may be suitable for the installation of solar panels means we can therefore estimate how much energy could be created. Based upon this calculation the additional 250m sq ft of warehouse due to be delivered in the next decade could be to used to deliver 1.68m KVA, which is 97% of the total energy need from the new development.
Practically however this will require careful planning and management and require the installation of further infrastructure such as batteries to capture the energy created. Moreover, due to the essential operations of many warehouse occupiers stable and uninterrupted connections to the national grid will be required.
It is clear however that rooftop solar has a clear and valuable role to play as the logistics sector looks to decarbonise as we meet the targets set to reach net zero.