Member Article

£1.9 million investment set to improve Newcastle Councils’ green credentials

30 housing blocks across Newcastle are set to benefit from rooftop solar energy systems thanks to a £1.9 million investment by Your Homes Newcastle.

The work will be carried out by renewable energy company OPUS Green, who will now design, supply, install and commission photovoltaic installations on buildings in Elswick, Kenton, Shieldfield and Newburn.

While the new solar panels will lower Your Home Newcastle’s carbon footprint, they will also generate revenue for the company under the Governments Feed In Tariff scheme. This incentive allows businesses and homeowners to earn money for every unit of energy created by solar PV, regardless of whether the electricity is used or not.

OPUS Green recently began work on the first block of flats in Elswick, and used an 80 tonne crane to life 260 solar panels onto the rooftop.

Managing Director of OPUS Green Chris Cassells believes that the project is a fantastic example of the Council taking a proactive approach to reducing emissions.

He commented: “Close collaboration with YHN and their residents has helped us meet the logistical challenges of installing approximately 260 solar panels and associated equipment onto the rooftops of three blocks of flats of up to 5 floors in Newcastle.

This is one of the first large commercial solar schemes in the region and we are confident tenants will notice the environmental benefits of installing Solar PV.“

OPUS Green was appointed after a tender process, and were chosen after they demonstrated good value for money, contractor experience, quality procedures and the ability to complete the project within the required timescales.

John Lee, Chief Executive of Your Homes Newcastle, said “The introduction of feed in tariffs has made it cost effective for us to install solar photovoltaic panels onto the roofs of properties. We are looking to install them on about 1000 properties in the next two years. This will help to reduce our customers’ expenditure on energy, in turn reducing the number of tenants living in fuel poverty.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .