A leisure centre will be powered by solar energy in a brand-new refurbishment set to save the equivalent to the annual electricity use of more than 100 houses.
Faringdon Leisure Centre will become the Vale’s first council-owned building to be powered entirely by low-carbon and renewable energy.
This will save around 500,000kWh of energy over a year - the equivalent to the annual electricity use of 135 houses.
The changes to the leisure centre are part of Vale of White District Council’s plans to become a carbon-neutral organisation by 2030, and for the Vale to become a carbon-neutral district by 2045.
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Vale of White Horse District Council successfully secured £361,746 of funding from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme last year to pay for the changes to the popular centre, which is operated by the council’s leisure partners, Better UK.
Work started this month on installing the solar panels. Next the gas boilers will be removed, and the new air source heat pumps installed. The project is due to be completed by June 2022.
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Councillor Helen Pighills said: “This is a really exciting and important milestone on our road to becoming a carbon neutral council and district. It demonstrates our commitments to tackling the Climate Emergency as we’ve set out in our Corporate Plan and will help to provide a bright future for Faringdon Leisure Centre.”
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