Lombard Shipping has installed an integrated solar, battery and EV charging system at its Ipswich hub near the Port of Felixstowe as part of a broader effort to reduce energy costs and manage rising electricity demand linked to fleet electrification. The company recently added two electric HGVs to its fleet.
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The rooftop array is expected to generate around 118 MWh per year. Over a 20-year period, the company projects savings of roughly £1 million, with a payback of just over five years. The battery, with 102.4 kWh of storage capacity, is designed to increase self-consumption and reduce exposure to peak grid prices.
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EV charging currently accounts for approximately 7 MWh of monthly consumption at the site. Peter Fraser, Director at Lombard Shipping: “Rising energy demand across our operations made it essential for us to take a more strategic approach to managing our power use. We needed a solution that could maximise clean energy generation on site and ensure it is used as efficiently as possible, and this system delivers exactly that.”
Installation partner Insight Energy deployed a DC-optimised SolarEdge system combining inverters, a 102.4 kWh commercial battery and six EV chargers, coordinated through a single energy management platform to align generation, storage and charging.
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The rooftop installation comprises 226 modules with power optimisers and two 50 kW DC-optimised inverters, allowing panel-level performance control and system oversizing to increase yield during peak production periods.
For the commercial and industrial segment, the project highlights how integrated PV and storage are evolving into core cost-management tools as transport and site operations electrify. At Lombard Shipping, this approach is reflected in the battery’s modular design, which will allow storage capacity to be expanded as operations grow. (TF)
