Merton Council has installed solar panels on six council buildings to generate electricity.
The panels will benefit the environment by reducing onsite energy costs and provide a source of zero carbon energy.
By generating its own energy, the council will reduce its exposure to rising energy prices and generate revenue through the government’s Feed in Tariff.
The council will reinvest this revenue in energy efficiency measures to further reduce energy use and emissions in the borough. The panels are estimated to save 300 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) over five years, the equivalent to the annual emissions of 50 UK households.
Merton Council Cabinet member for environmental sustainability and regeneration, Councillor Andrew Judge, said: ‘We are very pleased to have these new panels creating renewable energy and reducing our impact on the environment – this is a vital part of our climate change policy.
“The panels will provide guaranteed income for the next 25 years, which we will reinvest in improving the energy performance of council buildings and schools.”
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Notes to editors:
Other Merton buildings which already enjoy the benefits of solar panels include Benedict, Haslemere and Lonesome Primary Schools, supported by the Low Carbon Zone project in the Phipps Bridge area of Mitcham. The six sites that have panels added earlier this year are: the Corporate Archive, the Jan Malinowski Centre, council buildings at street sweeping and salt store, the council’s transport offices, the Lavender Children’s Centre and the High Path Day Centre.
The 157 kilowatts of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels generate enough electricity to power 379 household fridge-freezers yearly. Also, through the Government’s Feed in Tariff, which involves money received for every unit of electricity generated, the council has made almost £8,000 this year. For further details on the council’s solar PV systems, please visit: http://www.merton.gov.uk/renewable-energy
Merton Council has also worked on reducing its impact on the environment by using renewable energy in several council buildings, through installing a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system in the civic centre and PV systems.
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