A £200 million investment from the UK government and GB Energy will see the company work with schools and the NHS to install rooftop solar PV on a total of 400 sites, delivering between 70MW and 100MW of solar generation. Chesterfield Royal Hospital is one of the first hospitals to be selected for the scheme and has been awarded £6.5m to fit solar panels, which will generate nearly 4 million kWH of electricity every year.

Toby Perkins said, “I am really proud of this record investment by Great British Energy, the Labour Government’s publicly owned energy company. Not only will this be good for the environment, it could also save the Hospital up to £19m in energy costs over the lifetime of the panels, meaning the Trust can spend this money on treating patients.”

In England, around £80 million in funding will support around 200 schools, alongside £100 million for nearly 200 NHS sites, with the first solar systems to be installed by the end of summer 2025.

The investment has been welcomed by school leaders, NHS Trusts and unions who say the scheme will alleviate the “enormous financial pressure” of energy bills.

Toby added, “Energy supply chains are increasingly fraught with geopolitical tensions and conflict. This investment will increase our energy security and significantly reduce the amount of gas we need to import from other countries. We cannot leave our energy security in the hands of people like Putin.”