Nixon opens Renewable Power Division
2 September 2022
Nixon Hire has expended its sustainable equipment offering with the launch of a Renewable Power Division. This builds on its Renewables Division which was established in 2019.
This new activity is being headed up by Nick Hibbard, renewables division manager, and supported by Simon Gibbs who has recently joined the business as head of sales – renewable power. Simon joins Nixon Hire from Hybrid Power Hire, after holding senior sales roles at Speedy Services for over 16 years.
“Having worked in the temporary power industry for several years, and more recently within the battery storage unit environment, it was important to me personally that my next role was one that focused on the provision of clean energy, specifically within temporary applications,” said Simon.
As well as Solar Pod energy harvesters, tiltable Solar Smart Frames and electric vehicle chargers, the renewable power fleet will include ProPower solar hybrid generators (pictured above) from Prolectric.
Nixon Hire says it has also placed a large order for battery storage units from Himoinsa (below) which incorporate the manufacturer’s Hicore smart management system designed for user simplicity and efficiency. These can operate as a main power source and have the capacity to reduce emissions to zero.
New also is Nixon Hire’s Solar Smart Site offering, which incorporates Solar Pods, Solar Smart Frames, battery storage units and Erica (standing for energy reduction through information, control and automation) distribution boards, which can be managed remotely.
The Solar Smart Frames enable customers to add combined solar power systems to any roof or spare space on site, whilst the Erica boards give an insight into on-site power consumption.
The first Solar Smart Site was recently installed for a customer near Watford, as reported previously on the blog. This has successfully powered an eight-unit setup purely on solar and battery equipment, comprising seven 32ft units and one mains toilet unit.
Nixon Hire says that within one week, the site had already paid for itself. In three weeks the total amount of solar gain harvested was 319kW, enough to cover the site’s load requirements throughout the day and to fully recharge the battery bank inside the Solar Pod before 1pm each day, with zero generator run time.
This has saved seven tonnes of carbon emissions, the equivalent of planting 348 trees, and has reduced fuel usage by 2,520 litres, saving more than £5,500 according to the hirer.
“Over more recent years, the demand is growing stronger and stronger for clean energy,” said Nick Hibbard. “Our ultimate goal at Nixon Hire is to offer our customers all the products they need to achieve a zero emissions site, which we’re delighted to say we are not far from achieving. Our new renewable power division and Solar Smart Site offering are the next steps to allowing us to do just this.”
