£180m boost for solar panels on schools and hospitals

A decision to give hundreds of schools and hospitals across the UK £180 million for solar panels will lead to a rooftop revolution.

That’s the view of Midlands green energy expert Ron Fox, who was commenting on the first major investment from Great British Energy (GBE) as part of the government’s efforts to reduce the country’s planet-warming emissions and cut the public sector’s multi-billion-pound energy bills. GBE is the new publicly owned body that has been given £8.3 billion to invest in green technologies to meet the UK’s net-zero target by 2030.

The project will provide solar panels for 200 schools and 200 NHS sites and will reduce the use of fossil fuels across public properties, and should help reduce the UK’s reliance on importing gas and electricity. GBE claims that each school will save on average £25,000 per year and NHS sites up to £45,000 per year and the organisations will be allowed to keep the savings generated.

“Although in the first instance it will help fewer than one per cent of schools, it is the first step to help the UK achieve its long-term climate goals of net zero,” said Ron, of Noreus Ltd on the University of Keele Science and Innovation Park.

The move has been welcomed by school leaders, unions and NHS providers who said it would also help these institutions manage the enormous financial pressure of energy bills, one of their biggest expenses.

They said many schools and hospitals had wanted to install solar panels as they provided cheaper energy, but had previously been put off by the upfront cost of switching to green energy.

In 2022, the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) had said that a third of its leaders were predicting a budget deficit following a spike in energy costs.

The first solar panels are expected to be installed by the end of the summer, and the government said they would be put in areas of “highest need”.

This is not the first time such a project has existed – the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, launched under the previous Conservative government, has been running for more than four years and distributed close to £3bn for green technologies.

Ron reminded readers that the benefits of solar panels were:

• No more nasty surprises from the utility companies with price increases.
• Providing homes, offices, schools and hospitals with electricity, central heating or hot water.
• An environmentally-friendly choice.
• Making money – solar panels come with attractive green energy incentives backed by the Government.

“I think this is an excellent win-win scheme for hospitals and schools with help towards the cost of installing solar panels. This, in turn, will cut their budgets, so providing more money for education and health care,” concluded Ron. “I only hope this idea will soon grow quickly to help more and more public institutions.”

For those wanting more advice about installing solar panels and green energy for their homes and offices, call Ron on 01782 756995 or go to www.noreus.co.uk

Caption: Just what the doctor ordered – solar panels are to be put on hundreds of hospital and school roofs.