Norbar
Norbar Torque Tools Ltd has installed 778 kWp of solar PV with Low Carbon Hub at the Wildmere Road manufacturing site. The scheme provides clean, green electricity for Norbar, cuts carbon emissions and benefits the wider community because all of our profits are used to fund further carbon-cutting activities that support the local community.
The original solar array
On Friday 27 March 2015, Catherine Rohll switched on Norbar’s first solar PV installation, saying, “we are delighted to be working with Low Carbon Hub to increase renewable energy production in Oxfordshire. This is a scheme which benefits Norbar, the local community and the environment and we hope that other businesses in Banbury will be inspired to follow suit and start installing solar panels on their roofs.”
The solar panels were funded through our oversubscribed 2014 community share offer, giving staff and local residents the opportunity to own the installation. The funds from the electricity generated give a financial return to those who invested in the panels, as well as enabling future community-benefit projects.
The extension
Exactly seven years after their first installation with Low Carbon Hub, we were pleased to work with Norbar again in 2022, trebling its size from 250 kWp to 778 kWp and making it our second largest community-owned solar rooftop PV array.
As of 2022, the Norbar solar PV installations generate 644,170 kWh per annum, the equivalent of the electricity needed to power over 170 homes. It also generates an income of up to £14,000 per year to support the development of further community-owned renewable energy projects. In addition, it saves over 200 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.
Rooftop solar for me just seems to be a no-brainer – there’s nothing to lose. There’s no visual impact, there’s nothing for anyone to object to, and it produces lower cost power in an environmentally friendly way, so with environmental concerns being ever increasing on the corporate agendas, there’s just nothing not to like about it.
Catherine Rohll, Legal Counsel and Company Secretary at Norbar Torque Tools Ltd
Watch this short video where our Business Development Manager, James Ochiltree, explains about what makes this installation so exciting:
Energy reports
We are delighted to be working with the Low Carbon Hub to increase renewable energy production in Oxfordshire. This is a scheme which benefits Norbar, the local community and the environment and we hope that other businesses in Banbury will be inspired to follow suit and start installing solar panels on their roofs.
CATHERINE ROHILLCommercial Director, Norbar
Could your business save money on energy and cut carbon emissions?
If you work in a business in Oxfordshire, and you’re interested in finding out more about how you could work with us to install a solar array on your building, please get in touch.