Following the announcement from Great British Energy to invest £200 million into solar projects for UK schools and hospitals there will be trusts up and down the land clambering to get their hands on this funding. So how do they?
Having spoken to Solar Energy UK at the recent Solar and Storage Live event in London, Geo Green Power’s Managing Director James Cunningham has a simple message for trustees and board members looking to access this funding.
Get in touch
“Even without funding, solar investment for schools and hospitals makes a lot of sense. But now this initiative has been put in place, it really is a no-brainer. Solar is a solid investment for most UK businesses, so when you get access to funding, grants or subsidies, the potential for cost-savings becomes too big to ignore.”
The funding is said to be spread across around 200 schools and 200 hospitals resulting in a saving of over £400 million over 30 years. Money we all know could be spent in other areas to improve NHS services, and specific school services such as much-needed SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) departments.
James continues: “For any school or hospital that requires solar and wants to take advantage of this funding – Geo Green Power can help. We have a keen track record of helping medical and NHS facilities, as well as working with several educational institutions like Coventry University. Get in touch, and we can support you.”
Sky high-energy bills are depriving the UK
In the press release from Great British Energy, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband stated “Right now, money that should be spent on your children’s education or your family’s healthcare is instead being wasted on sky-high energy bills”
And he is absolutely right.
School governors and trust board members always ask the question “If money is not going into the classroom, then where is it going?”
Without funding, a solar investment usually means an upfront cost (although PPAs are quickly changing this) – which means money on the roof, and not in the classroom. Our normal response to that would be – a small investment on your roof will inevitably result in much bigger investments in the classroom.
With the new funding scheme, money saved goes straight into the classroom and on our children’s education immediately.
Solar for healthcare and the NHS
Similarly, we are partially surprised that solar isn’t front and centre for the NHS and healthcare trusts in normal circumstances. A hospital must have power to it – all the time, yet current solar deployment to NHS trusts in England is relatively low, estimated to be between 60 and 65MWp[1]. This is dwarfed by the manufacturing sector’s 1GWp for example – more than 15 times as much.
It is also somewhat alarming that whilst out of the 212 NHS Trusts in NHS England, 138 are using some form of green energy, but more than half of this is used by just 17 trusts. This is despite the standard government contract (2021/22) instructing NHS trusts to switch to renewable energy sources as soon as possible under existing agreements.
The potential of solar for schools and hospitals
Whilst the fund has stated that 200 institutions within each sector will benefit from solar energy, the potential within both sectors is far greater.
Between NHS England and NHS Scotland, there are nearly 10,000 sites – not all of which will be able to benefit from solar power, but many will. These sites have a Gross Internal Floor Area (GIFA) of over 25 million m2, with the GIFA for schools in the UK being four times as much. The total roof area of the school estate is around 50 million m2. To put this in perspective that is around 1,250 buildings the size of Wembley Stadium – that is a lot of roof space.
The education sector is further along with solar than the Healthcare sector. Solar deployment in education is estimated to be close to 200MWp, and the sector’s total number of maintained buildings is in the hundreds of thousands – many of which could host solar arrays that could slash their energy costs.
Solar for schools and hospitals: what does happen next?
With the announcement just coming out, there has to date been no official guidance from British Energy as to how the trusts for both sectors can apply for this funding. Whatever the process, however, solar installations will have to be carried out by a professional, experienced, established supplier.
A supplier with a track record in both sectors.
One that goes above and beyond for their customers – by say, ensuring their site teams have enhanced DBS checks so they can operate safely within school settings.
A company that specialises in solar installations around members of the public, with minimum disruption, ensuring that the building remains fully operational.
And perhaps most importantly, an installer that has proven time and again, that UK industry can save money, and the environment through a solid solar project.
[1] NON-DOMESTIC ROOFTOP SOLAR PV MARKET REPORT UK 2023 – 2027 – Ama
