Haven unveils £18m solar and energy efficiency plan for holiday parks
Holiday park operator Haven is set to invest £13m in onsite solar panels and a further £5m in energy efficiency upgrades, in a bid to cut energy costs and meet holidaymakers’ sustainability demands.
Published 5th February 2024
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Image: Haven
Energy-saving measures will be implemented at 39 of the 41 holiday parks Haven operates across the UK, including refrigeration upgrades and building energy management systems (BEMS).
The BEMS will enable staff to remotely monitor equipment efficiency and make changes to controls to cut over-consumption. These digital systems will track electricity, gas and water consumption.
Haven is also set to install a string of onsite solar arrays to reduce its dependence on electricity from the grid. Rooftop solar systems will be installed in all parks with central facility buildings, meeting around 10% of the total energy demand for the national estate of parks.
Solar installations are already taking place and the entire portfolio should be completed this June, ahead of the school summer holidays. Haven is aiming for a total generation capacity of 9MWp.
The plans support Haven’s ambitions to reduce its carbon footprint by 15% year-on-year. Haven already recorded a 43% reduction in emissions between 2011 and 2019, largely due to improved energy efficiency.
In 2021, Haven’s parent company Bourne Leisure was acquired by US-based multinational investment giant Blackstone.
Blackstone’s head of real estate asset management for Europe, Adam Shah, said: “We’re committed to upgrading and modernising Haven’s holiday sites to offer guests an unforgettable holiday experience. This latest investment into energy saving measures will help future-proof the business and meet growing customer demand for more sustainable holidays.”
The news comes shortly after research revealed a growing interest in solar energy from corporates across Europe, predominantly through power purchase agreements (PPAs) rather than onsite systems.
Pexapark tracked a record 12GW of PPAs across 218 deals in 2023. This marks a 28% year-on-year increase. While around a quarter of the deals were struck by utilities, interested sectors were diverse, ranging from manufacturers to tech giants.
Solar was the predominant source of PPA deals, eclipsing both onshore and offshore wind by a 4:1 scale. Solar accounted for more than 10GW and 160 deals.
Related news: Amazon inks power purchase deal with Scottish wind farm
Related news: Britvic taps solar farm on former quarry in Northamptonshire
It is useful to note the use of units.
WATTS, and multiples thereof, are a measurement of the RATE of energy generation or usage, rather like speed, in cars.
WATT.HOURS or WATT.DAYS are a measurement of the AMOUNT of power used, rather like the distance covered, in cars.