Last year we completed a 344.89 kWp at Kirkby Leisure Centre. The PV system is estimated to produce 300 MWh of solar energy every calendar year and reducing the leisure centers carbon emissions by 57.87 tonnes which will help them be more environmentally friendly. This will also help Knowsley in hitting their target of becoming Net Carbon Zero by 2040. A commitment was also made to work with partner organisations to reduce boroughwide emissions. Since 2009/10, the council has reduced its emissions by 69%.

We used the 758 x LR4-72HPH-455M Longi solar panels with half the amount of SolarEdge P950 optimisers as they connect to two solar panels each. There are 3 inverters included in this system. two SolarEdge 100K Synergy Managers and one Solaredge 66.6K Synergy Manager.

How are Knowsley Council Reducing Emissions

Reducing carbon emissions by cutting down on gas and electricity use in council buildings has been a high priority for the programme.

The Council has successfully secured £4.2m of external grant funding from the government-funded Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS). The funding has enabled improvement projects at the Courtyard Buildings at Court Hey Park, the River Alt Resource Centre and Huyton Library, replacing gas heating systems with Air Source Heat Pumps, the installation of roof mounted solar PV arrays and LED lighting.

The works are expected to produce an annual carbon saving of up to 440 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Further external funding has also been secured to create a Heat Decarbonisation Plan for 19 council buildings. The plan identifies low-carbon heating alternatives, as well as the suitability for Solar PV, LED lighting, wall insulation and window replacement.