Members of Northumberland County Council are due to meet next week to discuss plans to build a £3 million solar car port.
The council’s cabinet will vote on 6 August on proposals on install a 0.8MW array of solar panels over its county hall car park.
According to the cabinet report, the solar car port would also have a 0.4MW battery with a storage capacity of 1.26MWh to save excess energy for when it is needed.
The projected total cost of the car port project is just under £3 million.
The council has applied for half of the funding (£1.4 million) from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), while the remaining half will come from the local authority itself.
“Assuming 50 per cent ERDF grant support for the initial investment, the energy savings from the project are anticipated to more than cover the cost of the initial capital investment,” the report states.
It also adds that the car port will provide around 40 per cent of county hall’s energy requirements, which could help the local authority lower its carbon dioxide emissions by 240 tonnes per year.
In addition, 60 electric vehicle (EV) charge points will also be built into the new car port, which will “encourage staff and visitors within Northumberland to take up electric and hybrid vehicles”.
“At the time that the solar car port is installed, the wiring will be undertaken to add additional EV charging points to the above-mentioned infrastructure,” it adds.
“This will mean as take-up increases over time, we can increase the amount of vehicle chargers accordingly, and thus future proofing the car park.”