Sustainable energy system at Northumberland County Council headquarters gets the go-ahead

As part of its ambition to cut carbon emissions in half by 2025, Northumberland County Council has appointed energy specialists UK Power Networks Services to design and build a £3million infrastructure upgrade.

This includes an 800kW solar photovoltaic (PV) carport array – a combination of solar panels wired together to form a large installation that provides weather protection for electric vehicles and generates power – along with a 400kW battery storage system with smart controls to make energy use more efficient.

An additional 120 EV (electric vehicle) charge points will also be installed in County Hall’s staff car park as part of the project.

Energy from the solar panels will be used to power the main building, provide electricity to EV charge points for fleet and staff vehicles, or stored for later to improve cost and carbon efficiency. In total, it could save around 250 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.

County council leader Glen Sanderson, also portfolio holder for climate change, said: “I am so pleased to see these important works begin to get underway.

“We are on a journey to reduce carbon emissions across the county and this is a fantastic example of what can be achieved through adopting innovative ways to produce cleaner energy.

“Finding ways to sustain our energy usage is high on our list of priorities.”

The 40-year-old staff car park requires major refurbishment work, providing a timely opportunity for the council to combine this with the new infrastructure so that it is ready for the future.