News Article
Bournemouth Advances Solar
More solar panels proposed for Bournemouth's council housing
Following the successful roll-out of a number of photo-voltaic solar panels on the Council's housing stock over the last two months, Cabinet members are being asked to give the go ahead (on 20 July) for panels to be installed on 200 more Council homes in Bournemouth as part of the pilot scheme.
Solar panels that generate electricity from the sun are already being installed on 50 homes across the borough. The pilot scheme is part of Bournemouth Borough Council's commitment to becoming a greener town by generating renewable energy that will benefit not only the environment but also provide those tenants living in suitable houses and bungalows with reduced electricity bills.
The scheme is funded by prudential borrowing from the Council's Housing Revenue Account (HRA). The aim is to reduce CO2 emissions, help tenants with suitable roofs with their electricity bills, create additional jobs and provide an income to the Council. Any income generated from the scheme will be reinvested into improving and building more housing in Bournemouth.
Councillor Robert Lawton, Cabinet Member for Housing and Environment, said: "This is a fantastic scheme for the borough and clearly demonstrates our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint in Bournemouth. We are one of the first authorities in the South to install solar panels on our housing and other council buildings. By carrying out a further 200 installations as part of the pilot scheme we will be able to gain more knowledge and expertise about the PV industry which will allow us to make more informed decisions for any larger programme of work in the future.
"Following the pilot scheme, we will be looking to roll it out more widely to include all council housing, care homes and schools. The overall investment could potentially be £22 million with £12million of savings by way of cheaper electricity bills and £15 million by way of an income from the Government's feed-in tariff."
The council's in-house workforce, Building Maintenance, will be the main installer working in close partnership with Mouchel, the authority's incremental partner. During the pilot scheme two types of solar panel will be tested one being new technology to the UK. In the long-term it is hoped that around 40-50 additional jobs will be created with some work sub-contracted to small local businesses to carry out the work on behalf of the Council.
