Solar panels set to cut costs at East Yorkshire leisure centres

Leisure centres across East Yorkshire will soon benefit from solar canopies installed in their car parks, aiming to reduce both costs and carbon emissions.

This spring, solar carports will be installed at council-owned leisure centres in Beverley, Bridlington, Hornsea, Driffield, and Pocklington. Additional installations will take place at Carnaby and Annie Reed Road depots, alongside Champney Treasure House.

The initiative is expected to provide 435kWp of solar generation across these sites, with co-located battery storage, costing a total of £900,000. Funding worth £350,000 has been granted from Great British Energy, administered by the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority.

These solar installations are projected to produce 430,650 kilowatts annually, potentially saving the council approximately £100,000 per year on electricity expenses and reducing carbon emissions by 426 tons over the next 25 years.

During the installation phase, certain areas of the car parks will be temporarily closed. Notifications will be sent ahead of time to leisure centre members and visitors. All installations are anticipated to be completed by April.

Councillor Paul West, East Riding of Yorkshire Council cabinet member for environment and transport said: “This is a fantastic scheme to reduce our carbon footprint in an innovative way and use our existing council-owned facilities, that will also bring down our long-term operating costs.”