Northumberland Conservatives are delivering on their pledge to deliver value for money for taxpayers with an innovative installation which will reduce energy bills while reducing the council's carbon footprint.
The £3.8 million project, which includes a covered parking area with a canopy made from photovoltaic (PV) panels, has been designed and built by UK Power Network Services and will help provide clean energy to the Council’s headquarters at County Hall in Morpeth.
The 40-year-old staff car park has undergone major refurbishment work, providing a timely opportunity for the council to upgrade its energy provision so that it is ready for the future.
Once completed, the solar PV carport farm will generate approximately 40% of County Hall’s usage requirements. When combined with the roof-based solar PV, it is estimated that 50% of County Hall’s energy needs will be met with solar generated energy.
Between £100,000 and £150,000 is anticipated to be saved on energy costs each year, which can be invested in Council services.
As well as this, it is estimated over 250 tonnes of carbon emissions will be saved each year assisting the council to meet its target of cutting its own emissions in half by 2025.
Councillor Glen Sanderson, Council Leader and Cabinet member for Climate Change said:
“This is a significant move towards our commitment to deliver value for money for Northumberland taxpayers. Not only will we save hundreds of thousands of pounds, but we will do so while significantly reducing the council's impact on the environment.
“It’s great to see this initiative finally come to fruition which will save a massive amount on Council energy supply spending and will also reduce the need for us to rely on fossil fuels to power our main building.
“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in making this happen. It is a real example of using innovative technologies to move us towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.”
The new solar energy infrastructure is the third biggest installation of its type in the UK.
Energy from the solar panels will be used to power the main building, provide electricity to electric vehicle (EV) charge points, and stored to help optimise costs and carbon efficiency.
Additional rapid charge and overnight charging options are also now in place for the Council’s fleet vehicles.
David Mitchell, director of UK Power Networks Services said: “We are delighted to be delivering such a pivotal project for Northumberland County Council to assist in their objective of reducing carbon emissions in half by 2025. This solar energy infrastructure is one of the largest solar car port installations in the UK and will change the way the Council’s fleet operate to reduce cost and improve carbon efficiency.”
The Council plans to use this model to test the suitability of installing similar solutions in other public car parks in the county to reduce costs, meet carbon targets and improve the resilience of energy supplies.
