Northumberland County Council launch solar car ports at County Hall in Morpeth

The £3.8 million project, the third biggest installation of its type in the UK, includes a covered parking area with a canopy made from photovoltaic (PV) panels, designed and built by UK Power Networks Services, to provide clean energy to the council’s headquarters and electric vehicle (EV) charge points.

Up to £1,940,616 of funding is to be given from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 with match-funding from the council.

Between £100,000 and £150,000 is anticipated to be saved on energy costs each year

Council leader Glen Sanderson, cabinet member for climate change said: “This is a historical moment for Northumberland County Council and one we should be very proud of.

“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.”

Once completed, the solar PV carport farm and roof-based solar PV will generate approximately 50% of County Hall’s usage requirements and between £100,000 and £150,000, and over 250 tonnes of carbon emissions is anticipated to be saved on energy costs each year.

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.