Solar farm for health board's Carmarthen site
03 March 2022
Hywel Dda University Health Board’s first solar farm will be installed at its Carmarthen site.
Work has begun on creating the solar farm at Parc Dewi Sant, off Jobswell Road, which will involve approximately 1,080 panels being installed on an area covering just over an acre over the next few months. The project is part of the health board’s decarbonisation initiative.
The 0.5 MW solar farm scheme will deliver on-site generated electricity directly to the Hafan Derwen site. This is estimated to lead to an annual carbon savings of120.43tCo2e, along with financial savings of over £73,000.
A bio-diversity park has also been planned on-site, which will include enhanced planting, seating areas, and information boards explaining the benefits of each of the plants to the local environment to visitors to the Green Space. The possibility of electric charging points on site is also being explored.
Paul Williams, head of property performance at Hywel Dda UHB, said: “The solar farm project at Hafan Derwen is the latest of our many exciting initiatives working towards our aim of reducing our carbon footprint. The project not only enables an on-site renewable energy source but also creates greener, environment friendly spaces for visitors with the planned bio-diversity park.
“This is yet another positive step in the direction of tapping on and exploring environment friendly, energy efficient solutions across health board sites.”
In 2019, the Welsh Government declared a Climate Emergency. It has a long-term target to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, and an ambition for the Public Sector to lead the way and be net zero by 2030(opens in a new tab).
The solar farm project, scheduled to be complete by late summer this year, is just one of the many steps the health board is taking towards addressing the Climate Emergency (opens in a new tab). In the last year, roof mounted photovoltaic panels have been installed at seven sites across Hywel Dda, including at Amman Valley Hospital, Bro Cerwyn, Bronglais Hospital residences, Milford Haven Health Centre, Pembroke Dock Health Centre, and Llandovery and Cardigan Integrated Care Centres. In total, these schemes are estimated to save approximately 419,165 Kwh of electricity and £40,000 per annum. Annual carbon savings from these projects are expected to be approximately 106 tCO2e.