Around 400 schools and NHS sites to be fitted with energy-saving devices

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Around 400 school and NHS sites will get solar panels through the £200m initiative

The UK government has announced its first major project for Great British Energy, aimed at reducing energy bills for public services through the installation of solar panels on schools and NHS sites across England.

The £200m initiative is part of the government’s attempts to alleviate the financial strain caused by rising energy costs on public services.

Around 200 schools and 200 NHS sites across the UK will see rooftop solar panels installed, with the government promising millions of pounds of savings over the next 30 years.

The solar panels will be installed by the end of summer 2025. The programme is allocating £80m for solar panel installations at schools, with a further £100m directed towards NHS sites.

The aspiration is that schools and hospitals will also be able to sell surplus energy back to the grid. The government claims the initiative could deliver up to £400m in lifetime savings.

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Ed Miliband, energy secretary

Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “This is our clean energy superpower mission in action, with lower bills and energy security for our country.”

Juergen Maier, chair of Great British Energy, said the scheme marked “the first step in Great British Energy’s work with local communities to help them generate their own energy”.

He added that partnering with the public sector would help “crowd in investment and create job opportunities across the country” as the company works to scale up future projects.

In addition to the core solar scheme, nearly £12m will support local authority and community-led clean energy projects, including onshore wind, hydropower and rooftop solar. A further £9.3m will fund similar initiatives in devolved nations.

The announcement came in the same week that Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, in a policy review, signalled an end to the UK’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2050. Badenoch claimed that the target is “impossible” and stated that current policies are failing to deliver on climate goals while driving up energy costs.

 

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