Two council buildings set to have solar power

SOLAR panels could be installed on two buildings in Henley owned by the town council.

They are the Leichlingen pavilion in Mill Meadows and Brunner Hall, off Greys Road.

The council has set a budget of up to £50,000 for the project, which is designed to meet its net zero 2030 ambitions.

In 2019, the council declared a climate emergency which set out its commitment to reduce, where possible, its carbon footprint across its estate.

Two years ago, the council commissioned an energy audit and report across six of its properties, which included the pavilion and Brunner Hall, and receieved a grant from the Rural Communities Energy Fund.

Last year, following approval of a project to upgrade the pavilion’s heating system to air source heat pumps, council officers investigated the possibility of installing solar panels.

In a report to the finance strategy and management committee, Nicholas Dear, the council’s project officer, said the preferred contractor was “experienced” with a “strong track record” and represented best value for money with a quote of £42,365 plus VAT.

He said: “The contractor’s proposed system would include an installed capacity of 33.06 kWp across both sites and deliver an estimated annual output of 30,581 kWh.

“It would utilise battery storage to ensure that energy could be stored until needed by the building’s users.”

He said the electricity generated by the solar panels could be expected to provide a cost saving of around £7,770 per year and a return on investment of 15 per cent.

Mr Dear added: “The power generated at Brunner Hall would likely exceed the consumption by tenants, so there would be further opportunity to negotiate a feed-in tariff for unused power, generating further revenue for the council.”

Full payback on the scheme would be achieved within five-and-a-half years.

Councillor Ian Reissmann, who chairs the committee, said: “This is the sort of project that is consistent with our declarations of nature and climate emergencies.”

Mayor Rory Hunt said: “I still think the return on investment of 15 per cent is optimistic but even with a more pessimistic view, it’s still worth going ahead.”

Cllr Reissmann said: “There was a proposal 12 years ago that I put forward to this committee which was rejected. I was outvoted, so I have been waiting 12 years for this. It’s the right thing for us to do.”

The committee agreed to recommend the proposal and a final decision is due to be made by the full council next month.