Power up! Heywood flicks the switch on major new solar farm
The largest publicly owned solar farm in Greater Manchester has powered up in Heywood.
The 10 hectare site at Chamber House, which secured just over £3m funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is now switched on.
The electricity produced, which, at 5.5 megawatts of electricity, would be enough to power 2,000 homes, will be supplied to the national grid. It will be used to offset the council’s annual energy bill, potentially saving the authority thousands of pounds a year.
In addition to saving over 2,300 tonnes of carbon emissions a year, the solar farm is also bringing extra environmental benefits, with a huge planting scheme taking place across the site. More than 8,000 hedges, trees and plants have been planted as well as wildflower seeding to increase biodiversity, alongside the installation of bird boxes and wildlife habitats to encourage animal life-cycles to continue to thrive.
Vital Energi got the local community involved during the build, arranging mock interviews for local schoolchildren, presenting climate education workshops, holding site tours and offering work experience and local apprenticeship opportunities.
Chamber House Solar Farm was delivered by Rochdale Development Agency (RDA) in partnership with the council. This solar farm forms one of a number of projects being delivered under the ERDF funded Unlocking Clean Energy within Greater Manchester (UCEGM) umbrella project led by Energy Systems Catapult (ESC).
