Hospitals join schools in cutting bills with Great British Energy solar panels

• Hospitals and schools across the country are cutting their energy bills thanks to a £180 million investment from Great British Energy and government. 
• The first five NHS sites join three more schools in generating their own solar power, with eight more schools set to follow over the autumn, saving an estimated lifetime combined total of £3.8 million on energy bills. 
• Savings will be reinvested in local NHS services and schools as part of the government's Plan for Change to fix public services. 

Communities across the country will benefit from more money for textbooks and healthcare services, as Great British Energy's solar rollout continues to cut energy bills for schools and hospitals. 

Five NHS sites and 11 primary schools - from the south coast to the North East - will save a combined total of £3.8 million on their energy bills after installing Great British Energy solar panels. Panels were installed at five NHS sites and three schools over the summer, with eight more schools due to get new solar panels over the autumn.  

It follows the government's announcement in March to award £180 million of funding for schools and hospitals to install rooftop solar, marking the first major project for Great British Energy - a company owned by the British people, for the British people. 

In England, around £80 million is supporting around 200 schools, alongside £100 million for nearly 200 NHS sites, covering a third of NHS trusts, to install rooftop solar panels that could power classrooms and NHS services with clean, homegrown energy, while giving them the potential to sell leftover energy back to the grid.  

Schools and hospitals have been hit with rocketing energy bills in recent years, costing taxpayers millions of pounds, and eating into school and healthcare budgets. This has been driven by the UK's dependency on global fossil fuel markets over which government has no control. The NHS is the single biggest public sector energy user, with an estimated annual energy bill of £1.4 billion, that has more than doubled since 2019. 

Thanks to Great British Energy, millions could now be invested back into frontline services in deprived areas - as the rollout continues on a scheme that will see lifetime savings for schools and the NHS of up to £400 million. 

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: 

“Great British Energy is helping your local school or hospital save money on its bills, to be reinvested into the frontline, from textbooks to teachers to medical equipment.  

“Across the country, solar panels are going up on rooftops or carpark canopies, to power classrooms and operating theatres with clean, homegrown power. 

“This is our clean energy superpower mission in action, protecting our public services with lower bills and energy security.”  

Great British Energy's CEO, Dan McGrail said: 

“Great British Energy has been set up as a publicly owned energy company to help deliver the Government's mission to make Britian a clean energy superpower.  

“Our ongoing solar rollout delivers tangible benefits to the people that need it most in our hospitals and schools. Our continuing work is ensuring money is being put back into frontline care and education, providing cheap, clean and secure power.” 

Chris Gormley, Chief Sustainability Officer at NHS England, said:  

“Thanks to this new funding, we are set to expand solar generation by more than 300% across the NHS – slashing millions of pounds from energy bills, which can then be redirected into patient care. 

“These new solar panels are expected to save the NHS £8.6 million every year once all the projects are completed, adding up to £260 million over their lifetime. 

“That's a massive leap towards a more sustainable, cost-efficient NHS – building on the great work already undertaken in the five years since we became the first healthcare system in the world to commit to reaching net zero.” 

Eleven schools are already saving on bills after switching on their solar panels in June – and all schools and hospitals under the scheme are expected to have their Great British Energy solar power up and running by April.  

Currently only about 20 per cent of schools and around 10 per cent per cent of hospitals have solar panels installed, despite the huge potential for the clean energy technology to help save money on bills. 

Estimates suggest that on average, NHS sites could save up to £45,000 a year and a typical school could save up to £25,000 per year - if they had solar panels with complementary technologies installed such as batteries. 

The rollout of these solar panels marks progress in Great British Energy's Local Power Plan that will ensure the benefits of the government's clean power mission are felt at a local level, with energy security, good jobs and economic growth – while also helping to rebuild the nation's public services. 

This includes Great British Energy's investment of £10 million in grant funding for England's Mayoral Authorities to deliver local clean energy projects, announced earlier this year. The scheme will see public services across the country - such as libraries, fire stations and care homes - save an estimated £35 million in lifetime energy bill savings to reinvest back into serving their local communities. 

Earlier this month the Energy Secretary also set out his expectations for how the publicly-owned company will deliver on the government's clean energy superpower mission – that will take back control of Britain's energy supply to protect billpayers from global fossil fuel price spikes. The company will produce a strategic plan within 6 months, setting out how it will meet these expectations and deliver for the British public.  

Notes to editors 

The devolved governments have received separate GBE funding of over £9.35 million which will be used for renewable energy schemes that can be deployed either onto public sector buildings or to support new community or local renewables schemes. This includes £4.85 million for Scotland, £2.88 million for Wales and £1.62 million for Northern Ireland. 

Solar installations have been completed across the following NHS sites, with a combined project cost of £704,332 and a total installed capacity of 474kW. These assets are estimated to deliver yearly average net energy bill savings of around £63,200 and of around £1.9m over their operating lifetime (assumed to be 30 years). 

Note:  Energy bill savings estimates are based on DESNZ assumptions agreed with other government departments (OGDs). They comprise three components: electricity bill savings, revenues from exports, and are net of operating costs. All values have been rounded to the nearest 100. 

Solar installations are being completed across the following schools, with a combined project cost of £1.3m and a total installed capacity of 526kW. These assets are estimated to deliver yearly average net energy bill savings of around £63,200 and of around £1.9m over their operating lifetime (assumed to be 30 years).