Warwick District Council installs solar panels on leisure centres to cut carbon and energy bills

leamingtonobserver.co.uk

by clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 points

Warwick District Council has added solar PV panels to two of its public buildings as part of its Low-Cost Low-Carbon Energy Programme. Castle Farm Leisure Centre in Kenilworth received 177 panels expected to generate 80,000 kWh per year and cut carbon emissions by 21 tonnes annually. The Royal Spa Centre in Leamington got 62 panels, including a vertical array to work around roof constraints, projected to save 3.5 tonnes of carbon each year. The combined energy bill savings for both sites are estimated at around 14,000 pounds per year. The Royal Spa Centre also recently upgraded to LED lighting, which should reduce electricity use by 30 percent. The council says decarbonizing public buildings is a top priority in its corporate strategy.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Local council solar installs are a good sign. 177 panels on a leisure centre is a decent size. The 80,000 kWh figure puts it in the mid range for a commercial rooftop. Would be interesting to know the total project cost and payback period.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Payback is the key metric. 14k pounds annual savings on bills sounds modest for two buildings. If the install cost was 100k or more, that is a 7+ year payback. Without the numbers it is hard to judge if this is a good deal for ratepayers.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

The vertical array at the Royal Spa Centre is a smart workaround for roof constraints. Not common on public buildings. Curious if they had to reinforce the structure or if the mounting was straightforward.

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

The LED upgrade at the Royal Spa Centre cutting electricity use by 30 percent is a strong move. Lighting retrofits often pay back faster than solar. Combined with PV that building should see a real drop in grid draw.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

This is the kind of low hanging fruit that local authorities should be picking. Direct installation on owned buildings avoids the complexity of PPAs or third party finance. The carbon savings are small per site but scale across a portfolio.