Solar Sensation: Council’s solar projects set to save residents energy and money

Work on the solar farm at the new Bedford Green Technology & Innovation Park is progressing well as all 8,004 solar panels have now been installed. Meanwhile, Bedford Borough Council have also launched a new group-buying scheme which offers residents and businesses cheaper access to solar panels.

Once up and running at the end of May, the Bedford Green Technology & Innovation Park project will deliver low carbon, clean energy generation technologies on an old landfill site in Elstow. The Park will have a capacity of up to 4.2MW which can be fed into the national grid. The project will also provide an education and training resource through partnership working with the University of Bedfordshire, Cranfield University and local colleges, alongside promoting wider acceptance of renewable energy technologies.

Mayor Dave Hodgson said "It was great to see the progress at the Bedford Green Technology & Innovation Park. This project will not just deliver green electricity but also encourage others to reduce carbon emissions and adopt innovative technologies."

Solar Together is a new group-buying scheme being promoted by Bedford Borough Council encouraging residents to register for solar panels. The scheme works by essentially bulk-buying solar panels for a large number of households, so that the price-per-unit is much lower than normal. This will make solar panels more accessible for Bedford Borough residents, allowing them to save money on their energy bills and help to reduce Borough-wide carbon emissions.

You can register by 13th June for free and without obligation at www.solartogether.co.uk/bedford. To register you simply provide details about your roof, such as its size and orientation (a roof's position relative to the sun, for example south facing). The more people that register, the better the deal should be for each household - so tell your neighbours!