Schools and Hospitalsreceive £180m solar investment
Hundreds of schools and hospitals across theUK are set to receive £180 million for solar panels from the government's newstate-owned energy company.
The first major investment from Great BritishEnergy was announced on Friday (21st March) as part of governmentefforts to reduce the country's planet-warming emissions.
The move was welcomed by the school leadersunion and NHS providers who said it would also help to manage the"enormous financial pressure" of energy bills.
But Andrew Bowie, shadow energy secretary,said the government's net zero plans would make the country "poorer".
"Right now, money that should be spent onyour children's education or your family's healthcare is instead being wastedon sky-high energy bills," said Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
"Great British Energy's first majorproject will be to help our vital public institutions save hundreds of millionson bills to reinvest on the frontline," he added.
The government also hopes that the project, toprovide solar panels for 200 schools and 200 hospitals, will reduce the use offossil fuels across public property and help achieve its long-term climategoals.
This is not the first time such a project hasexisted - the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, launched under the previousConservative government, has been running for more than four years anddistributed close to £3bn for green technologies.
This project in the first instance will targetless than 1% of schools. But Alex Green,head of Let's Go Zero - a national campaign to reduce the climate impact ofschools - said it was a welcome first move: "It is tough economic times, and to see this progress is a bigstep. [Whilst] acknowledging that 200 schools is a small starting point, toachieve this in one year is a good pace," she said.
The announcement has been strongly welcomed byschools, unions and NHS estate managers who have previously warned of thepressure of high energy bills. In 2022,the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) had said that a third of itsleaders were predicting a budget deficit following a spike in energy costs.
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, saidschools wanted to install solar panels as they provided cheaper energy thanpaying for gas, but the upfront cost could often be prohibitive. "This announcement is therefore welcomeand a step in the right direction. In the longer term, this should also helpschools manage energy bills, which have been a source of enormous financialpressure in recent years," he said.
But the acting shadow energy secretarydisagreed that the government's approach would save money.
"Labour's Net Zero zealotry is still setto make us poorer. The government is putting our very energy security at riskwith their attacks on North Sea Oil and Gas - surrendering our energyindependence to foreign powers like Russia," he said. However, energy experts have said thatinvesting in renewable energy could reduce this reliance on imports.
Jess Ralston, energy analyst at the think tankEnergy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: "This GB Energy funding is aninvestment into energy security as solar panels lower the amount of gas we needto import from people like Putin." The first solar panels are expected to be installed by the end of thesummer and the government said it would focus them in areas of "highestneed".
GB Energy’s founding statement added it would provide a “route” to buildingclean energy assets which would “generate profit that is returned to invest innew projects and for the wider benefit of UK taxpayers, bill payers andcommunities”. However, it has been slowto define exactly what role it will play. Technologies such as offshore windare already well supported by the private sector. Dan McGrail, theinterim chief executive, said on Wednesday it was looking at investing in floatingoffshore wind, currently riskier and more expensive than the workhorsefixed-bottom technology.
The total £200mn in government and GB Energyspending being announced includes £80mn for around 200 schools in England and afurther £100mn for nearly 200 National Health Service sites in England. Almost £12mn more will go to local authorities and community energy groups inEngland for clean energy projects, and £9.3mn to similar schemes in Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland.
The government said the NHS spends about£1.4bn a year on energy, adding that estimates showed an average NHS site couldsave “up to £45,000 per year” if it installed solar panels as well as othertechnology such as batteries. Trusts in line for funding include theChesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, set to receive £6.6mn, andLewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, set to receive £2.7mn.
Labour’s manifesto said GB Energy would befunded with £8.3bn across the parliament. Its funding is coming under pressureahead of a tight spending review that will conclude this June. The FTreported earlier this month that ministers are weighing whether they can affordthe full amount. Meanwhile, the remit of the National Wealth Fund,Britain’s state-owned investment vehicle launched last November, has beenwidened to include advanced manufacturing and other sectors alongside cleanenergy.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she wants theNWF to consider dual-use technologies. So far, GB Energy has been allocated£175mn to the end of the 2025/26 financial year — £125mn at last year’s Octoberbudget and a further £50mn as part of today’s announcement. It now has £65mnleft for the period. Ed Miliband, energy secretary, said of today’sfunding: “GB Energy’s first major project will be to help our vital publicinstitutions save hundreds of millions on bills to reinvest on the frontline.This is our clean energy superpower mission in action.”