FOI/2025/26/097

Request

1.      Governance & Responsibility

•            Do you have a dedicated person or team responsible for solar energy investment and/or sustainability energy initiatives within your organisation?

The Sustainability team

•            If so, please provide their role/title (personal names are not required).

Energy and Estate Decarbonisation Manager Director of Sustainability

2.      Current Solar Deployment

•            How many solar panel installations (PV systems) do you currently operate across your estate?

Seven

•            What is the total installed capacity of these systems (in kWp)?

397.5 kWp

•            What proportion of your organisation’s energy usage is currently provided by solar generation?

On average across the seven sites that have solar panels, this represents 26%

3.      Investment & Strategy

•            Does your organisation have a documented investment strategy for expanding the use of solar panels or increasing on-site renewable energy generation?

We have a green plan (2024-26) which was updated last year and can be found here: https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclch.nhs.uk%2Fabout-us%2Fgreen-plan&data=05%7C02%7Cclcht.foi.request1%40nhs.net%7Cdc5b5c5ff8344ccbec8208ddbd3e4537%7C37c354b285b047f5b22207b48d774ee3%7C0%7C0%7C638874797364674346%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=z%2BVSojxxz4PsR7UTi9eh3PnylDZVbcyblMleXlxSjfE%3D&reserved=0

If so, please provide a copy of or link to the relevant strategy or plan (or summarise key points if not published).

4.      Solar and Net Zero Commitments

•            Does solar energy form part of your organisation’s Net Zero / Carbon Reduction Strategy?

Yes

•            If yes, how is progress against this strategy communicated to the public (e.g. via website, reports, dashboards, etc.)?

Via our green plan refreshed every three years.

5.      Future Plans

•            Are there any planned solar panel projects or expansions within the next 3 years? If yes, please provide high-level details (e.g. number of sites, scale of deployment, approximate timescales).

Yes, we secured funding for three more sites to have solar panels installed this financial year. This will add 147.8kWp.

•            Have you conducted any feasibility studies on increasing solar capacity in the past 3 years? If so, can these be shared?

Yes, feasibility studies have been conducted. We have applied exemption under Section 43 of the FOI Act (Commercial sensitive)

6.      Procurement & Partnerships

•            Does your organisation currently use any third-party companies or frameworks to deliver solar energy solutions or manage installations? If yes, which ones?

Yes. Genfit.

•            Are there any upcoming procurement exercises planned relating to solar energy or wider renewable energy solutions?

No

7.      Battery Storage

•            Do you currently use battery storage alongside your solar panels?

No

•            Are there plans to invest in battery storage in future?

No

8.      Funding

•            Has your organisation accessed or applied for any external funding to support solar energy projects (e.g. SALIX, Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, LEP funding)?

Yes

9.      Barriers

•            What are the main barriers your organisation faces to further adoption of solar energy (e.g. funding, planning restrictions, roof suitability, internal resource)?

Funding, planning permission for some sites, roof suitability, internal resource, space