KGH to receive £713,000 to install solar panels
Kettering General Hospital has been awarded £713,000 to fit more than 1,000 rooftop solar panels to help it to reduce yearly energy bills by around £150,000.
It is part of a package of £100 million national package of funding from the new publicly owned energy company Great British Energy to enable the NHS to install solar power and battery storage solutions to help drive down energy bills, offering better value for the taxpayer.
The additional solar panels are separate to the hospital’s planned new £57m Energy Centre, on which some enabling work started this month, but will add to the hospital’s overall energy sustainability.
It is also separate to the planned major rebuild of the hospital due to begin in Northamptonshire between 2032 and 2034 according to Government announcements in January.
Kettering General Hospital’s Director of Estates and Facilities, Rob Drabble, said: “This is fantastic news for the hospital and will come in addition to our £57m Energy Centre – due to be built by 2027.
“It will mean we have solar panel arrays installed on five of our roof spaces, and this will offer projected savings of up to £150,000 per year (a total of c£3m over the lifetime of the panels).
“We are delighted that our bid for additional solar panels has been agreed as part of national plans to enable more energy efficiency in the NHS.”
The panels will go on hospital roof spaces not due to be redeveloped as part of the hospital rebuild so will be places like the roof of the Treatment Centre, Education Centre and Cardiac Centre.
NHS England invited trusts to submit expressions of interest for funding solar PV (photovoltaic) projects deliverable within the 2025/26 financial year. A prioritisation process ensured funding was allocated to projects with high delivery confidence, economic and environmental impact.
Nationally the solar panels programme is expected to deliver savings of around £8.6 million a year, and up to £260 million over the panel’s lifetime across the NHS.
Chief Sustainability Officer at NHS England, Chris Gormley said: “Thanks to the dedication of teams nationwide, the NHS has already implemented hundreds of projects that enhance energy efficiency and drive significant cost savings.
“This groundbreaking new investment, across 78 NHS Trusts on around 200 sites, will expand solar power generation within the NHS by over 300%, slashing energy costs by hundreds of millions of pounds. These vital savings can be reinvested directly into frontline care, ensuring the NHS continues to deliver for our patients and communities.”