City of Wolverhampton Council has announced plans for its first solar farm to be developed to power New Cross Hospital with renewable energy.
The local authority has partnered with The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust to deliver clean, green electricity by developing a solar farm at the former Bowman’s Harbour site.
Bowman’s Harbour is an unused landfill site adjacent to an industrial estate located in Planetary Road and is currently a subject to anti-social behaviour and flytipping.
The council is working closely with the trust to assist it in meeting its carbon reduction commitments by providing it with electricity from the solar array.
The new development will turn the south-facing wasteland into a productive solar farm, supplying 6.9MWp of life-saving energy directly to New Cross Hospital.
The treeline around the site will not be affected and will remain to improve security and maintain greenery, the council has said.
Councillor Steve Evans, cabinet member for city environment at the council, said: “This is fantastic news for our city.
As the largest employer in Wolverhampton, we take sustainability very seriously and are committed to continually working to reduce our carbon footprint
“Since declaring our Climate Emergency last July, the council committed to support its partners towards making Wolverhampton zero carbon.
“I’m pleased to see the council supporting the local hospital in achieving its ambitions to reduce carbon emissions in the city.
“The new development will certainly have a positive impact in making Wolverhampton a greener city.”
David Loughton, chief executive at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, added: “As the largest employer in Wolverhampton, we take sustainability very seriously and are committed to continually working to reduce our carbon footprint.
“We have taken a number of steps to reduce and better manage our energy consumption and operate in a sustainable manner.
“One of these steps is to look at using renewable energy so we are very pleased to announce this partnership.”