More solar power for Gateshead
The Council is investing almost £4m in solar photovoltaic panels at four key sites we own in the town centre area, including our headquarters at the Civic Centre on Regent Street.
Planning consent has just been granted for solar photovoltaics to be installed on brownfield land on Albany Road, and on the roof of the PROTO office building, both located within the fast developing Baltic Quarter.
And the Council is also investing in a brownfield solar park to the south east of Gateshead Stadium.
Together the four sites will generate a total of 4.0 megawatts of green electricity - supplied directly to more than a dozen council buildings through our private electricity network across Gateshead town centre.
This will mean the council saves money on its energy bills, and takes a further step towards decarbonising energy generation across Gateshead, contributing to our aim to go net zero by 2030.
A sophisticated control system means we can rely more on solar power generation on longer, sunny days through the summer months, and switch to other power sources on shorter, cloudier days.
All sites are being installed by SAS Energy Ltd, one of the UK's leading solar PV installers, from now to Spring 2022.
Works are being funded by the government's Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme following a £7.5m grant award to the council. This grant is also funding work to connect four more Council buildings to Gateshead's heat and power network.
The council sites follow on swiftly from Metrocentre announcing its £2.8m project to install more than 3,500 rooftop and solar car port panels at the North East's biggest shopping centre.
Cllr John McElroy, member for Transport and Environment at Gateshead Council, said: "We are vastly increasing the amount of Solar PV in our portfolio to continue tackling the climate emergency, and help protect the council against volatile, rising energy prices.
"As we increase our capacity to generate renewable electricity and low carbon heat, we are contributing to our goal of the borough going net zero for carbon emissions by 2030."
At the Civic Centre, which already boasts photovoltaic panels on its south and west facing roofs, work has begun to install car ports over car parking spaces which will all be covered in photovoltaic panels.
The works are scheduled to last seven weeks, completing before Christmas. During this time the amount of visitor parking at the building has been substantially cut back.
Alternative parking is available nearby at Regent Court, Sunderland Road (Tynegate), Swinburn Street or Gladstone Terrace.
Additionally, all bike parking will remain accessible for those cycling to the building. The works do not affect red badge holders, disabled bays, members car parking or operational vehicles.
The investment in solar photovoltaic panels comes as Gateshead has just launched its new borough-wide climate strategy.
As a council, Gateshead has already made major progress in reducing carbon emissions from its own activities with a 55% drop since 2010.
But this only accounts for around 2.5% of the borough's total carbon footprint.
So now the Climate Strategy aims to get everybody with a stake in Gateshead involved, whether they live, work or travel through the borough, urging them to make changes to reduce carbon emissions.
The Council is investing almost £4m in solar photovoltaic panels at four key sites we own in the town centre area, including our headquarters at the Civic Centre on Regent Street.
Planning consent has just been granted for solar photovoltaics to be installed on brownfield land on Albany Road, and on the roof of the PROTO office building, both located within the fast developing Baltic Quarter.
And the Council is also investing in a brownfield solar park to the south east of Gateshead Stadium.
Together the four sites will generate a total of 4.0 megawatts of green electricity - supplied directly to more than a dozen council buildings through our private electricity network across Gateshead town centre.
This will mean the council saves money on its energy bills, and takes a further step towards decarbonising energy generation across Gateshead, contributing to our aim to go net zero by 2030.
A sophisticated control system means we can rely more on solar power generation on longer, sunny days through the summer months, and switch to other power sources on shorter, cloudier days.
All sites are being installed by SAS Energy Ltd, one of the UK's leading solar PV installers, from now to Spring 2022.
Works are being funded by the government's Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme following a £7.5m grant award to the council. This grant is also funding work to connect four more Council buildings to Gateshead's heat and power network.
The council sites follow on swiftly from Metrocentre announcing its £2.8m project to install more than 3,500 rooftop and solar car port panels at the North East's biggest shopping centre.
Cllr John McElroy, member for Transport and Environment at Gateshead Council, said: "We are vastly increasing the amount of Solar PV in our portfolio to continue tackling the climate emergency, and help protect the council against volatile, rising energy prices.
"As we increase our capacity to generate renewable electricity and low carbon heat, we are contributing to our goal of the borough going net zero for carbon emissions by 2030."
At the Civic Centre, which already boasts photovoltaic panels on its south and west facing roofs, work has begun to install car ports over car parking spaces which will all be covered in photovoltaic panels.
The works are scheduled to last seven weeks, completing before Christmas. During this time the amount of visitor parking at the building has been substantially cut back.
Alternative parking is available nearby at Regent Court, Sunderland Road (Tynegate), Swinburn Street or Gladstone Terrace.
Additionally, all bike parking will remain accessible for those cycling to the building. The works do not affect red badge holders, disabled bays, members car parking or operational vehicles.
The investment in solar photovoltaic panels comes as Gateshead has just launched its new borough-wide climate strategy.
As a council, Gateshead has already made major progress in reducing carbon emissions from its own activities with a 55% drop since 2010.
But this only accounts for around 2.5% of the borough's total carbon footprint.
So now the Climate Strategy aims to get everybody with a stake in Gateshead involved, whether they live, work or travel through the borough, urging them to make changes to reduce carbon emissions.
