Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) has been awarded £1.2 million to reduce CO2 emissions from the Cotgrave Leisure Centre, with plans to utilize solar PV modules and air source heat pumps.
The funding was allocated under the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Public Sector Decarbonization Scheme. RBC also secured £250,000 from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport through the Swimming Pool Support Fund, managed by Sport England.
As part of the initiative, solar panels will be installed on the roof of the leisure center. These modules are expected to generate up to 55,000 kWh of electricity annually, translating into a saving of up to £25,000 on running costs.
The installation of solar PV modules is part of RBC’s wider strategy to modernize the Cotgrave Leisure Centre, with a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency. As such, the center will also install low-carbon air source heat pumps.
These units, powered by renewable energy, will increase the energy efficiency of heating the pool and surrounding areas with an expected efficiency of 250% to 300%.
Rushcliffe Borough Council’s portfolio holder for leisure and wellbeing, ICT and member development, Councilor Jonathan Wheeler, believes the development and integration of solar energy will help the council achieve its environmental goals and become carbon neutral by 2030.
“The additional funding we have secured for decarbonisation and solar energy means we can make great progress towards our environmental goals of operating as a carbon neutral municipality by 2030,” Wheeler said.
“In total, we are investing £5.2 million in these renovations and energy efficient upgrades over the next two years, which will improve the quality of the facilities for residents and visitors and increase their sustainability.”
Work on the solar PV installation and heat pumps will start in the spring of 2025.
Recreation centers are turning to solar PV
In April 2024, Worcester City Council received £195,000 from the UK Government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund, as did RBC, to add solar panels to the roof of the Perdiswell Leisure Centre.
The PV modules will be installed by March 2025 alongside a unit that will use the excess energy produced during the summer months to heat water for the showers, fans that will recirculate warm air to reduce heating demand, and a energy efficient water recovery system that creates and reuses clean water.
In addition, West Lindsey District Council had been allocated £401,500 to install 545 solar PV modules at the leisure centre, saving 221 MWh of annual energy production. This was allocated under the Swimming Pool Support Fund in the second phase.
