Five NHS sites have been fitted with solar panels, along with three more schools, and eight more schools will follow in autumn as GB Energy expands its operations.

The installations are estimated to have a lifetime saving of £3.8m on energy bills, as the £180m of Government funding for schools and hospitals for rooftop solar is rolled out.

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 per cent across the NHS, slashing millions of pounds from energy bills, which can then be redirected into patient care.”

Solar panels from the entire £100m earmarked for the NHS are expected to save £8.6m each year once all the projects are completed, saving £260m over their lifecycle.

Currently only about 20 per cent of schools and around 10 per cent of hospitals have solar panels installed, and 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 GB Energy’s Local Power Plan which includes investment of £10m in grant funding for England’s Mayoral Authorities to deliver local clean energy projects for libraries, fire stations and care homes, amongst others.

The devolved governments have received separate GBE funding of over £9.35m 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.

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