- New solar panels set to save £65,000
- 21 tonnes of CO2 saved per year
- Five council buildings now benefit from this technology
New solar panels on Enfield Council buildings will save £65,000 and reduce the authority’s carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas – emissions by 21 tonnes each year.
The panels have been installed on Enfield Council’s Civic Centre as well as John Wilkes House in Ponders End, Enfield Business Centre in Enfield Highway, Park Avenue Day Centre in Bush Hill Park and the Rose Taylor Centre in Enfield.
This week Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Business and Business Regeneration, Cllr Alan Sitkin, saw for himself the new solar (photovoltaic) PV panels on the roof of B Block at the Civic Centre in Silver Street, Enfield. They currently provide 42,000 Kilo Watt Hours of energy a year – enough to iron clothes constantly for 15,400 hours or power a television for 294,000 hours.
To help with delivering the solar PV programme, the Council signed up to the Greater London Authority’s free consultancy support from the RE:NEW Programme Delivery Unit framework. The team produced a detailed study which shortlisted the five corporate buildings that were suitable for PV installations – this took into account shading from trees and other buildings, orientation of the roof in relation to the movements of the sun and planning constraints.
Cllr Sitkin said “Using solar power to provide electricity for buildings is a win win situation, it’s good for the council and good for the environment.
“Not only is the council on target to recoup its investment in a little over 10 years, but we are also giving a big helping hand to the environment by using this clean technology.
“Solar energy is renewable and this means that we will never run out of it. It is about as natural a source of power as it is possible to generate electricity. The panels also require little maintenance and are a silent producer of energy.”
The Council is committed to reducing its carbon emissions and this solar PV project is just one of 50 different sustainability projects in the ambitious Enfield 2020 programme.
The Deputy Mayor for Environment for London, Shirley Rodrigues, said: “It’s great to see Enfield Council taking positive steps to reduce its carbon footprint by using this technology to improve energy efficiency.
“The Mayor of London has put green issues right at the top of his agenda and – through RE:FIT and other initiatives – we will be working with stakeholders across the private and public sector to support them in making the most of the capital’s buildings for solar energy generation.”
