The project has seen over one megawatt of solar PV installed across eight canopies, covering roughly 243 parking bays and incorporating approximately 2,250 solar panels. 

When in operation, the installation is anticipated to produce around one gigawatt-hour of electricity per annum, delivering approximately one third of the site’s power. 

The project came with several engineering obstacles, including how to manage drainage within the existing car park while integrating new structures with the site’s current infrastructure.

The first proposal involved an underground drainage solution. However a detailed assessment of the site levels and surface water flows found an opportunity to make a better use of the present infrastructure. 

Will Rudd knocked up a solution that employed the existing drainage network and sustainable drainage features, necessitating only one new drainage connection to serve the proposed glass-reinforced polyester switch room. 

OCS appointed the consultancy to deliver civil and structural engineering services for the project. 

Will Rudd was responsible for the design of the foundations, substructures and drainage infrastructure, alongside swept path analysis to examine vehicle accessibility and manoeuvrability around the new structures. 

Steven Williams, assistant engineer at Will Rudd, said: “Projects such as this demonstrate how engineering can help organisations make practical use of existing sites to support their transition towards more sustainable energy.

“Working within an operational car park presented a number of challenges, particularly around drainage, access and the integration of the new structures with the existing site.”

Williams added: “By taking a detailed approach to the existing infrastructure, we were able to develop solutions that supported the installation while minimising disruption and unnecessary additional works.”

At present, Will Rudd is working with OCS on several projects in the UK, such as structural assessments of non-traditional housing stock in Scotland to aid the installation of Tesla Powerwall energy storage systems.