Babraham Road Park & Ride Smart Energy Grid

In 2017, the General Purposes Committee approved a Corporate Energy Strategy. The strategy promotes using Council assets to expand local clean energy generation and develop alternative streams of revenue. The strategy details the approaches used to deliver close to 100 successful projects across Cambridgeshire. It includes energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in schools and corporate buildings. It also includes the construction of Triangle Solar Farm which has been operational since 2017. The delivery of a second solar Farm, North Angle Solar Farm and the Smart Energy Grids at both Babraham Road and St Ives Park and Ride sites are currently underway.

Cambridgeshire County Council declared a Climate and Environment Emergency in May 2019. Further to this, the Council’s Climate Change and Environment strategy was published in 2020. it was renewed in 2021 and is available here:

Climate Change and Environment Strategy 

This project forms part of the actions to address this declaration.

The initial business case was approved by the Commercial and Investment Committee in May 2018. The Investment Grade Proposal (IGP) was agreed by the same committee in 2021. The project is managed by the Specialist Projects team at Cambridgeshire County Council.

The energy generated by the solar carports will supply the electrical infrastructure on site. This includes street lighting, electric vehicle chargers, CCTV and other electrical equipment. Excess energy generated by the solar carports is sent to Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust via a private wire.

A solar carport is a covered parking area consisting of a steel structure supporting a canopy made from solar PV panels. They are designed to ensure the Park & Ride site retains full car parking capacity, whilst benefitting from renewable energy generation. The carports also provide shade and protection for the cars parked underneath them.

The Smart Energy Grid has a connection to the national grid via its private wire connection. This means electricity can be drawn from it at times when the solar panels are not generating enough electricity to meet on site demand (for example at night). This will ensure that the electrical equipment on site such as electric vehicle chargers, CCTV and street lighting is still able to operate.

The underground high voltage (HV) private wire will transport surplus renewable energy generated by the solar PV system to Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The buried cable has been installed along Babraham Road. Its location is shown on this maps page . Select the category Climate Change and Energy Services Utilities. If you are looking to do works in the area that involve excavating/digging, please run a free desktop survey beforehand via Linesearch BeforeUdig (LSBUD).

There is currently no battery storage at Babraham Road Park & Ride Smart Energy Grid. However, the system has been designed in such a way that BESS could be installed in the future.

For all users of the Park & Ride site, they will have solar carports to park under. This will provide some shelter from heat during summer months as well as some protection from adverse weather. Owners of electric vehicles will also be able to charge their car whilst parked in the allocated electric vehicle charging spaces. Three dedicated accessible electric vehicles charging bays have been created for blue badge holders.

As the solar modules are made from glass, they are reflective, and this has the potential to cause nuisance. ‘Glint’ is a momentary flash of bright light whereas ‘glare’ is a continuous source of bright light. Published guidance shows that the intensity of reflections from solar panels are equal to or less than those from a body of water.

During the planning application process, a formal study of the “glint and glare” from the solar panels was completed. It assessed the amount and duration of the reflection of light on surrounding homes, businesses, drivers on the ground and aircraft pilots overhead.

It accounted for the position of the sun relative to the modules, as well as the angle of the modules, across the entire year. Out of the study, it recommended we use low reflection PV solar modules.

It should be noted that by design, solar modules absorb light in order to generate electricity. As such they seek to minimise their reflective nature.

The use of solar carports ensures that no additional land is required. This in turn also reduced the localised ecological impact of the project. Additional landscaping including the planting of trees, shrubs and hedge plants will improve biodiversity net gain.

A noise impact assessment was undertaken during the planning approval stage. It concluded that the project would not have a detrimental impact on existing noise levels in the area.

In the future, if battery storage is installed, there will be a small amount of noise from air conditioning used in the battery storage unit to maintain optimal operation of the equipment. The battery storage facility will feature suitable fire suppression systems and acoustic dampening. It will be remotely monitored at all times to be consistent with the general noise level of a Park and Ride site. No radiation, electromagnetic fields or chemical emissions will be produced. Suitable systems will be in place to minimise any potential environmental impacts.

Once the system is operational, routine checks and maintenance will be undertaken. This will ensure the systems operate at peak performance. Maintenance regimes will include cleaning of the solar panels to remove any fouling or general debris build up.

To make way for the carports, some street lighting columns have been removed. Under canopy LED lighting and an upgraded CCTV system have been installed to provide improved security across the site.