Solar panel switch on for ambulance service

21 minutes ago

BBC Solar panels on a roof with the sun shining in the sky on the right

Solar panels installed at an ambulance building could save more than £32,000 a year, South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) has said.

The Great British Energy (GBE) panels have been installed on the service’s resource centre in Eastleigh, Hampshire.

Earlier this year it secured £1m of funding for solar panels on four of its buildings.

Jonathan Guppy, head of sustainability at SCAS, said it was a “hugely important milestone” in reducing energy costs and working towards its net zero targets.

The first installation of 609 panels at the trust’s Winchester and Eastleigh Resource Centre is now generating its own solar power.

With the panels and batteries having a 25-year performance guarantee, over the lifetime of their use, SCAS said it would save an estimated £842,000 in energy costs.

The funding was part of a £100m investment in solar and battery installations in a scheme run jointly by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Great British Energy (GBE) and NHS England.

GB Energy is a state-owned company that was set up by the Labour government to invest in renewables, such as solar power.

It is spending about £200m on rooftop solar for 200 schools and NHS hospitals across the country.

Mr Gupp said: “The installation at Winchester and Eastleigh is already making a real difference and is just the beginning of a wider programme of work that will deliver long-term environmental and financial benefits across our estate.”

SCAS operates in Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

The installation is the first of four that will be completed over the coming months, with others due in Portsmouth, Abingdon and Stoke Mandeville.

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