Sustainable energy gets the go-ahead for Council headquarters
28 Mar 2023 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
Permission has been granted for the development of an integrated system to provide clean energy at Morpeth’s County Hall.
As part of its ambition to cut carbon emissions in half by 2025, the County Council has appointed energy specialists, UK Power Networks Services, to design and build a £3 million infrastructure upgrade.
This includes an 800kW solar photovoltaic (PV) carport array - a combination of solar panels wired together to form a large installation which provides weather protection for electric vehicles and generates power - along with a 400kW battery storage system with smart controls to make energy use more efficient.
An additional 120 EV (Electric Vehicle) charge points will also be installed in County Hall’s staff car park as part of the project.
Energy from the solar panels will be used to power the main building, provide electricity to EV charge points for fleet and staff vehicles or stored for later to improve cost and carbon efficiency. In total, it could save around 250 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland County Council and portfolio holder for climate change, said: “I am so pleased to see these important works begin to get underway. We are on a journey to reduce carbon emissions across the county, and this is a fantastic example of what can be achieved through adopting innovative ways to produce cleaner energy.
“We are a huge employer in the region and finding ways to sustain our energy usage is high on our list of priorities.
“I’m pleased to have UK Power Networks Services on board to help us begin to future-proof our estate and help us in our mission to make Northumberland a carbon neutral county by 2030.”
The 40-year-old staff car park requires major refurbishment work, providing a timely opportunity for the council to combine this with the new infrastructure so that it is ready for the future. Parts of the car park will remain open during the upgrade, with around two thirds of the parking spaces available at any one time.
Philip Heathcote, Head of Markets at UK Power Networks Services, said: “This project’s benefits speak for themselves. By being innovative and using technology smartly, we can transform the way we use energy and reduce emissions quickly.
“We’re committed to deploying innovative energy technologies right across the UK to drive down carbon emissions and help organisations like Northumberland County Council achieve their sustainability ambitions.”
The County Hall Solar Carport, Storage and EV Charging project is part-funded by 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, which it plans to recoup from its investment in the system through energy savings.