Enjoying a cuppa in the Tea Pavilion cafe are, from left, Tom Jones of Mini Muckshift; Gareth Jones of Carbon Zero; William Greenwood, Bodnant’s property manager; and Alex Turrell, the National Trust’s environmental adviser in Wales
One of the UK’s best loved gardens is going greener – thanks to an array of 175 solar panels.
They are being installed on a hillside in the overflow car park at Bodnant Garden in the Conwy Valley.
The Panasonic panels will generate 50kW to power the garden’s Tea Pavilion cafe and two electric car charging points.
The initiative is part of a drive by the National Trust – which manages the 80-acre attraction – to reduce its overall energy use by 20% by 2020.
St Asaph-based company Carbon Zero Renewables are installing the panels.
Carbon Zero boss Gareth Jones was thrilled with the contract, particularly as the civil engineering is being done by Mini Muckshift, his dad Tom’s firm.
Gareth said: “It’s a flagship project for us. It’s an interesting challenge for us to landscape the array in such a way as to minimise disturbance to the beauty and uniqueness of Bodnant Garden.”
The new generation Panasonic N285 panels were supplied by the technology company as part of a new corporate partnership agreement with the National Trust.
It follows other sustainability initiatives at Bodnant Garden, ranging from the installation of smart meters to water management.
Alexander Turrell, the National Trust’s environmental adviser in Wales, insisted the solar array would be “largely out of sight and where it does not detract from the spirit of this special place,” he added.
Bodnant Garden has enjoyed an increase in visitor numbers over the summer after the opening up of 10 acres of tranquil riverside known as the Far End.
Previously the section had been closed off for more than 130 years.
