Solar car port will power electric fleet vehicles and council HQ

A new car port covered in solar panels will cut a council’s energy bill by up to £150,000 a year by powering its HQ and on-site electric vehicle (EV) charge points.

The solar car port array - one of the biggest of its kind in the UK - has been built by Northumberland County Council.

The £3.8 million project, which includes a covered parking area with a canopy made from photovoltaic (PV) panels, has been designed and built by UK Power Networks Services.

The car park at County Hall in Morpeth has undergone major refurbishment work, with the works part-funded by the England European Regional Development Fund. 

It is anticipated the new solar energy infrastructure will save between £100,000 and £150,000 on energy costs each year.

Furthermore, it is estimated more than 250 tonnes of carbon emissions will be saved each year, helping the council to meet its target of cutting its own emissions in half by 2025. 

Councillor Glen Sanderson, council leader and Cabinet member for Climate Change, said: “It’s great to see this initiative finally come to fruition which will save a massive amount on council energy supply spending and will also reduce the need for us to rely on fossil fuels to power our main building.

“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in making this happen. It is a real example of using innovative technologies to move us towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.”

The new solar energy infrastructure is one of the largest car port array installations in the UK and features 800kW solar panels, while also providing weather protection for electric vehicles.

Additionally, there is a 400kW battery energy storage system with smart controls to optimise energy use, carbon emissions and costs throughout the day.

Energy from the solar panels will be used to power the main building, provide electricity to EV charge points for fleet and staff vehicles and also stored to help optimise costs and carbon efficiency.

Glen Sanderson, council leader, and David Mitchell, director of UK Power Networks Services

The council has installed 120 EV charge points in the staff car park, including 100 fast chargers and 20 rapid chargers including some dedicated for accessible parking bays.

David Mitchell, director of UK Power Networks Services, said: “We are delighted to be delivering such a pivotal project for Northumberland County Council to assist in their objective of reducing carbon emissions in half by 2025.

“This solar energy infrastructure is one of the largest solar car port installations in the UK and will change the way the council’s fleet operate to reduce cost and improve carbon efficiency.”

The council plans to use this model to test the suitability of installing similar solutions in other public car parks in the county to reduce costs, meet carbon targets and also improve the resilience of energy supplies.