Dorset Council is feeling the benefit of the sun after installing solar panels on its highways depots in Charminster, Ferndown and Wareham.
Since the installations in 2022, the Council has saved approximately £54,000 a year in energy costs and significantly reduced the highways team’s carbon emissions.
The three schemes were part of a programme to install energy saving and renewable energy measures at over 200 council-owned sites over the course of a year. This was made possible thanks to £19 million from central government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Cllr Jon Andrews commented:
“The installation of solar panels at our depots is a significant step towards a greener future for Dorset. Not only are we reducing our carbon footprint, but we are also making substantial savings on energy costs. Even with the relatively small solar panel installations at the three depots combined, we are generating enough energy to power 77 average-size homes a year.
“This renewable energy, which costs nothing to generate at the three sites, is used to charge our equipment and growing electric vehicle fleet, and help power our buildings. We are committed to helping build a greener, more sustainable future for our county and it is fantastic to see the positive impact these solar panels are having on our carbon footprint and the council’s energy bills.”
Over 750,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity has been generated so far from the solar panels at the three depots. Excess energy generated by the solar arrays is fed back into the national electricity grid.
(Pic: Dorset Council)
