19.12.19
Warrington Borough Council first in the UK to produce its own electricity
In a first for the UK, Warrington Borough Council is set to produce all of its own electricity after buying the first of two solar farms.
The deal is expected to provide enough energy to power a town, as well as generating a surplus of more than £100m over a 30-year period.
The local authority acquired the solar farm near York, with a second site near Hull set to be taken over next year.
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Energy from the site at York will be sold on the open market, while the council will then produce all of its own energy from the Hull site.
Council leader, Russ Bowden, said: “The completion of this groundbreaking project is a huge milestone for the council.
“This investment strengthens our commitment to tackle the climate emergency, and will also help us secure our energy supply, give us control over our energy prices, and contribute to reducing fuel poverty.
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“At the same time, the solar farm is an important part of our ‘invest to save’ programme, and we expect it to generate an operating surplus of millions of pounds that can be ploughed back into delivering vital council services.”
The York solar farm will produce an amount of energy necessary to power more than 20,000 electric vehicles a year, and was built by Gridserve, a sustainable energy firm, in just five months.