Exeter City Council is to borrow more than £1million to kit out six of its buildings with solar panels.
The initiative will save the council almost £100,000 every year as well as avoiding 106,000 carbon dioxide emissions every year.
“This is an investment in Exeter’s future,” said Cllr Matthew Vizard (Lab, Newtown and St Leonards).
Members of the full council voted in favour of spending the money after hearing that renewable energy would cut the council’s carbon emissions as well as reducing energy bills and safeguarding the local authority from energy price increases.
A report from officers said the business case was ‘robust’, providing long term savings over at least 25 years, with a net saving across all six sites of more than £1.6million.
The six sites, all of which could be up and running in 2026, are Exeter Arena sports centre; St Sidwell’s Point leisure centre; Wonford Leisure Centre; the Guildhall car park; Exeter bus station and the Senate offices.
The city council is planning to move into the Senate soon, having decided to leave its current headquarters off Paris Street. Exact costings for installing solar panels at the Senate will be discussed early in the New Year.
The meeting heard that grant funding from the South West Net Zero Hub had been used to identify the potential sites for photo-voltaic (PV) cells.
Some councillors questioned whether the authority was getting the best value for money, and whether it could afford to take on the loans.
Cllr Matthew Vizard (Lab, Newtown and St Leonards) said: “It’s fantastic that this council continues to show leadership in its work to decarbonise our buildings through our solar PV arrays, and I’m delighted that we are now in a position to move forward with the next phase.
“Not only is this environmentally smart, it also makes good sense business-wise.”
And Cllr Diana Moore (Green, St Davids) added: “It is important in a climate emergency that we do invest in renewables, and I hope these will have a significant impact on reducing the energy consumption particularly around St Sidwells Point.
“We all understand how urgent this is, and the significant impact of the climate emergency. This is the sort of investment that we need.”
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