Yorkshire hospitals to save millions of pounds from GB Energy solar panel project

The investment also includes funding for councils and community groups to build local clean power projects, such as community-owned onshore wind, rooftop solar and hydropower in rivers.

Hospitals and schools have faced soaring bills in the face of the energy crisis, driven by volatile fossil fuel prices, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said.

The NHS is the single biggest public sector energy user with an estimated annual bill of £1.4 billion – a cost that has more than doubled since 2019.

In Yorkshire, seven NHS trusts are to benefit from the solar panels.

These include Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which DESNZ said could save £9.5m over the panels’ lifetime, while Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust could save £4.9m.

The first panels are expected to be on the roofs of hospitals and schools by summer 2025, and the DESNZ said a typical school could save £25,000 a year, while the average NHS site could see savings on bills of £45,000 if they had solar panels installed alongside technology such as batteries.

Funding will target areas most in need, with selected schools primarily clustered in deprived areas in Yorkshire, the North East and North West, as well as at least 10 schools in each region.

Each cluster will include a further education college, which will work with the solar panel contractors to promote careers in renewables, the Government said.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “Right now, money that should be spent on your children’s education or your family’s healthcare is instead being wasted on sky-high energy bills.

“Great British Energy’s first major project will be to help our vital public institutions save hundreds of millions on bills to reinvest on the front line.”

He added: “Parents at the school gate and patients in hospitals will experience the difference Great British Energy can make.

“This is our clean energy superpower mission in action, with lower bills and energy security for our country.”