We are fitting 1,700 solar panels to our roofs to cut energy costs
Kettering General Hospital has started work on a £713,000 project to fit 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 enabling work is currently underway near the hospital’s Treatment Centre.
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.
The solar panels are being fitted on the roof of the hospital’s main ward block, Treatment Centre, Cardiac Centre, and Prince William Education Centre Library. These are areas not planned to be redeveloped as part of the hospital rebuild.
Work started on November 27 and the aim is to finish installation by the end of March/April 2026.
Kettering General Hospital’s Director of Estates and Facilities, Rob Drabble, said: “These panels will offer us projected energy savings of up to £150,000 per year which could add up to about £3m over the lifetime of the panels.
“Along with the Energy Centre it will make the hospital much more energy efficient.
“These panels alone will enable us to reduce our carbon emissions by about 188 tons of CO ₂ each year and over the system’s lifetime it will be the equivalent of planting 35,570 trees.
“We are delighted to be part of the national plans to make the NHS more energy efficient.”
Strategic Estates Project Manager, Alan Collick, said: “A lot of preparation and design works has gone into this project and we are delighted it is now taking shape.
“The 1,700 panels are as many as we are able to fit until the Energy Centre itself is built because of capacity issues.
“But once that is complete we will be looking at whether we can create even more renewable energy this way in other parts of the site.
“We want to thank everyone for their patience and support with this project – particularly as it coincides with Energy Centre enabling works and we know a number of staff car parking spaces have been impacted.”
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.
Picture caption — Solar panels on the roof of Northampton General Hospital where £20m of energy improvements were delivered in February.