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25 August 2025

Solar farm supplied entire New Cross Hospital site over summer

A landmark solar farm developed by Vital Energi in partnership with The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) and City of Wolverhampton Council has been officially opened, marking a major milestone in the Trust's journey towards a more sustainable future.

Located on the former Bowman's Harbour landfill site in Wednesfield, the 11-hectare solar farm has transformed a brownfield site, equivalent in size to around 22 football pitches, into a renewable energy asset that is helping to power New Cross Hospital.

The scheme features 15,200 solar panels and is expected to provide around 75% of the hospital's annual electricity demand, delivering approximately 289 days of self-generated energy each year while reducing carbon emissions by around 1,450 tonnes each year.

Thanks to the amount of sunshine experienced this year, the solar farm has supplied the entire New Cross Hospital site during the summer, helping the Trust reduce its reliance on electricity from the national grid.

The project is expected to save the Trust an estimated £15 million to £20 million over 20 years, money which can be invested in frontline healthcare and patient services.

“It is a real pleasure to be here today to officially open the solar farm at New Cross, and to recognise what is an important milestone in our Trust’s commitment to sustainability. As an NHS Trust, our first responsibility is, of course, to provide the best possible care for our patients. But we also have a responsibility to think about the environment in which we deliver that care, and the impact we have on the planet. This has been brought into even sharper focus during the heatwave conditions we have experienced recently. I want to thank everyone who has helped make this solar farm a reality – our estates and facilities teams, our sustainability and energy colleagues, our partners and contractors, and everyone across the Trust who is helping us change the way we use energy. This is something we should be proud of as we continue to work to do even more.”

Sir David Nicholson KCB CBE, Chair of RWT

“It is wonderful to see how what was once a former landfill site has been given a new purpose, generating clean renewable energy that is helping to power New Cross Hospital and I am proud of the role the council has played in bringing this to fruition. This supports our ambition to create a cleaner, greener and more sustainable Wolverhampton by working with all sectors and the Bowman’s Harbour Solar Farm is a fantastic example of partnership working at its best.”

Cllrr Bhupinder Gakhal, Cabinet Member,, City Transport at City of Wolverhampton Council

“This is a real success story for collaboration between RWT, the Council and the private sector. Given the economic and environmental circumstances that our staff and suppliers are experiencing currently we should rightly be proud that we have turned an idea that started with the council into a commercial reality. Thanks to everyone involved and in particular our partners in this project.”

Kevin Stringer, Group CFO and Executive Sustainability Lead at RWT