Work on a huge solar power array to cover two-thirds of the car park at a north Norfolk leisure centre is about to get under way.
The firm RenEnergy has been contracted to install a pair of shelters, each of which will cover two rows of parked cars at the Reef in Sheringham.
Each shelter’s roof will be decked in photovoltaic cells, which will draw energy to help power the centre.
READ MORE: Solar car port planned for the Reef centre in Sheringham
Kate Rawlings, climate and environmental policy manager for the Reef’s owners, North Norfolk District Council, called the project “exciting”.
Ms Rawlings said: “This car port has been designed to deliver a significant amount of the Reef’s electricity which will reduce the centre’s energy costs and emissions.
“At the same time, we are working with our leisure partner, Everyone Active, to identify energy-saving measures at the Reef and our centres at Fakenham and North Walsham.”
READ MORE: The Reef in Sheringham has 177,025 visits in first year
The solar car port will include 600 1m x 1.6m solar panels, and will cover 92 of the car park’s 136 spaces.
The council says the car ports will also help to reduce the fuel consumption of cars parked underneath them by providing shade.
Work is due to start this week and will take place in two phases, the first involving five days of piling work to install bolts 1.5 metres into the ground.
The structures themselves will be installed in mid-June.
READ MORE: Leisure centres to stay open despite rising costs, says council
Peggy Lee, sustainability manager at Everyone Active, said: “Sustainability was a key element of the Reef’s design and it is great news that this project will further reduce the centre’s carbon footprint.
“Everyone Active is proud to work alongside our local authority partners to support them in achieving their net zero ambitions, as well as our net zero strategy.”
NNDC is aiming to be ‘carbon neutral’ by 2030.
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