A PROJECT to install solar panels at Ceredigion County Council’s Canolfan Rheidol offices in Aberystwyth has been completed, and it is hoped it will save the authority £10,000 per year.

The solar panels were installed by Egnida – specialists in energy, renewables and transport - on the building at Parc-y-llyn in December 2015 and will provide 49.75kW of energy which will supply electricity to the council’s offices.

The installation was completed in two parts, with 15kW of solar panels installed on the biomass plant room roof, and 34.75kW on the office building’s flat roof. In total, 199 individual solar panels generating 250W each were installed.

Cllr Alun Williams, Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste and Carbon Management, said: “The most impressive part of the scheme - the solar panel array on the flat roof of Canolfan Rheidol - isn’t visible from the ground. Nevertheless, the scheme adds significantly to what is by now a large, and still growing, portfolio of energy saving and renewable energy initiatives which help to minimise the council’s carbon emissions and save money at this financially challenging time.”

The installation of solar panels at Canolfan Rheidol will help lower the council’s energy usage and carbon emissions, as well as providing a Feed in Tariff income.

This project was funded as part of the council’s Invest to Save Scheme and will provide total combined annual energy savings and income in the region of £10,000 per annum, with a project payback in the region of eight years.

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