Bolton Council has revealed how it is to save millions of pounds on its energy bills by launching both solar PV and LED projects in its borders.
The council has appointed installation business Forrest to install rooftop solar systems on four community buildings – three of which are care homes – in Bolton. The buildings were selected following an energy audit conducted by the council, which revealed them to be particularly energy intensive.
The systems are expected to generate around 2.15MWh of electricity each year, saving the council around £200,000 on energy bills over the next 20 years.
Forrest will also monitor the panels over their first full year of generation.
Councillor Morris, leader of Bolton Council, said: “The solar panels will not only save the council money on the running costs of these facilities, but will also contribute to meeting the Greater Manchester Climate Change Strategy target of reducing carbon emissions by 48% by 2020.”
Meanwhile Bolton Council has also revealed that it is now switched more than half of the city’s street lamps to LED lighting and expects the programme to complete as scheduled in 2018.
The project began in April last year and since then almost 15,000 lights have been switched. The change is expected to save the council around £14 million over 20 years and reduce its energy use by as much as 50%.
Bolton Council spends around £2.1 million on energy each year and the council’s executive cabinet member for environment services Nick Peel said the feedback from residents had been “overwhelmingly positive”.
“The LED upgrade will ultimately save them money, as we will see significant savings due to reduced energy bills, carbon reduction and lower maintenance costs,” he added.
