Richard Quigley MP has welcomed the news that 39 schools and NHS sites across the South East – including St Mary’s Hospital – will receive funding from Great British Energy to install solar panels, saving thousands of pounds on energy bills.
The Isle of Wight’s only hospital will receive over £70,000 to install solar panels, a major move toward cutting energy costs for local public services on the Island.
The step marks the first major project from GB energy, the Labour Government’s publicly-owned energy company. It will provide solar panel installations for 10 schools and 29 NHS sites across the South East, including the Isle of Wight and Hampshire.
It’s estimated that each school could save as much as £25,000 a year, while the solar panels across NHS sites are poised to generate significant savings for local hospitals over time.
The first solar panels are expected to be up and running by the end of Summer 2025, marking an important milestone toward a more sustainable and cost-effective energy future for public services in the South East.
Richard Quigley MP has said:
“This is a fantastic investment for the South East, and the funding for St Mary’s Hospital highlights this government’s commitment to strengthening healthcare on the Isle of Wight.
“Through Great British Energy, Labour is delivering on its Plan for Change by strengthening our energy independence, investing in public services, and ensuring lower bills for our communities.”
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Brilliant news!
I’m wondering if GB Energy could compete in the energy market and help drive down prices across the sector as a non-profit? The possibilities are endless!
Now, I have to question the figure of £25,000 a year energy saving cost per school. Is it correct? If it is then what are the present energy costs for schools now? I can do you a better deal!
They’ll never save £25k…Have they forgotten that there’s little sunshine in winter ? And when there’s most sun, they’re closed for the summer holidays.
Solar panels will still produce energy from daylight on a dull day, albeit at a lower rate than in sunshine. The power can also be stored in batteries to make the se more flexible.
My energy consumption for a 4 bed house with high use/needs individuals topped 6k last year. £25k (on average) for a school needing heat, lights, computers, multiple cookers doesn’t seem outrageous by comparison. And it’s not profit-driven deals we’re after as a community, it’s non-profit independence from volatile and greedy market forces.
As regards the solar panels themselves, better late than never.
apparently these are made from slave labour in china…..
”the Government will this afternoon whip Labour MPs to strip out a House of Lords amendment to the Great British Energy Bill, as the legislation returns to the commons “
All part of the climate con they are selling to the
Nation.
If it costs only £70,000, you have to wonder why it hasn’t been done before. The reality is that this might provide power for a few dark corridors, but imaging equipment like MRI and CT scanners requires huge amounts of power. No, I’m afraid this is nothing but a cynical ploy by the government to promote its new quango, Great British Energy, as the original promise to lower our bills by £300 has not been delivered.
I’ve paid hardly anything for energy the last 2 years with solar+ battery. Because of the poor winter, I’ll be paying a bit this month…first time in ages…and I took £400 out of my account…
No, this is just one aspect…the others have yet to be implemented. As is the lowering of bills. That can’t start until we transition from private energy into semi-public owned energy, can it? And that can’t start until we have invested in hydro-electric, wind and tidal power. And that can’t start until the money starts coming in from windfall taxation of the current energy companies massive profits. Estimated date towards 2030.
The reason it wasn’t done before? Because fossil fuel sector lobbied governments to make sure it didn’t. Look at all the rollback currently going on in the States, and ‘drill baby, drill’.
I wondered what happened to the £350,000,000.00
brexit money that was promised.
What a cynical response. I family home will usually be capable of saving £1,000 a year from solar so £25k for a school doesn’t seem unrealistic. Obviously, it is not going to provide 100% of the power needed for a hospital but any contribution helps or are you serously saying you would like the power generated to be used to reduce your domestic bills by £300. No wonder the country is in the state it is if everyone took such a self focussed approach.
More utter bollocks ..and without batteries will be wasted/used else where.Amnd you wonder why NHS in the shit ..
I wish Miliband would take early retirement
he was a useless leader and now he’s secretary
of state for energy and climate.
If an employee worked for a private company rather
than the public sector when they are useless they get the
chop and don’t come back.
In the public sector if they are not any good they still
wangle high paid positions.
At number 229 and just above Ireland the UK is ranked in a descending list of 230 nations’ ability to benefit from solar energy.
Currently there are restrictions governing trading with nations which use slave labour. China absolutely dominates global solar panel production at over 77%. It is undisputed that China uses Uyghur and Tibetan forced labour in the production of solar panels.
There are some panels produced in the UK. If the panels to be installed in schools and hospitals are British why would this government be seeking to alter the regulations governing trading to allow forced labour?
If it is deemed acceptable to promote these renewables over the morality of the use of forced labour should there be complete transparency.