Solar Panels To Be Fitted To 22 More Council Buildings

East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Asset Strategy Department recently secured funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to support the installation of a Solar Farm at the council’s South Cliff Holiday Park in Bridlington, as well as solar panels on the roofs of 22 council buildings, including leisure centres and libraries. 

At South Cliff Holiday Park, the 370kW solar farm will generate zero-carbon electricity that will be supplied directly to the site, significantly reducing carbon emissions, and providing 45% of the site’s annual electricity usage.

Along with the installation of solar panels will be the provision of electric vehicle charging points at each of the council buildings and the solar farm. This will allow any visitors who have access to an electric vehicle to ‘top up’ their vehicles during their stay ‘free of charge. This rollout of green electric vehicle charging infrastructure within the area will remove some of the barriers to electric vehicle ownership.

The solar farm at South Cliff Holiday Park will significantly reduce carbon by 130 tonnes a year, which is equivalent to the carbon savings associated with powering 22 homes for an entire year.

The shower blocks at the holiday park are heated using ground source heat pumps which use the free heat from the ground to provide low carbon heat. They also have solar thermal panels on the roof, which means much of the hot water used by holidaymakers has been heated by the sun.

In addition, the toilet and shower blocks on the site have motion–tracking lights, so they switch off when the buildings are unoccupied.

The solar farm started on site in March and has just been completed, making South Cliff Holiday   Park one of the greenest holiday parks within the United Kingdom.

The estimated total value of the investment in the solar farm and solar panels is £1,895,341.  The council has contributed £1,047,365 towards the scheme.  

Councillor Chris Matthews, the portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said:

“I am delighted by this investment by the council and ERDF in this solar farm and in the solar panels at many of our buildings.

“It shows we as a council are serious about reducing our energy consumption, and making it more environmentally friendly as well, and is a good start on our journey to making the council and its facilities more eco-friendly.

“The solar farm at South Cliff Holiday Park will appeal to holidaymakers who care about the environment and marks a statement of intent by the council. We believe this is the first-holiday park in the north of England to be powered to a large extent by a solar farm, and I am very excited that this has happened right here in Bridlington.”