More than 1,200 council homes in Swansea will have solar panels installed on their roofs over the next four years to help generate electricity and reduce the cost of energy, Swansea Council has confirmed.
Around £26m has been set aside for the project which will see hundreds of PV solar panels installed and specialist batteries introduced to generate and store energy for electric power and light - energy which Swansea Council has said will be able to be used by individual residents "on demand".
The first homes to benefit from the scheme are set to have their solar panels installed later this summer - and more than 30 homes that are located in rural areas and not on mains gas will also benefit from upgrades to their homes' insulation, as well as new 'heat pumps' to provide a low-carbon heating alternative to existing oil, coal and LPG systems. You can get the biggest Swansea news stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
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The news comes after Swansea Council has already retrofitted a number of bungalows in the Craig Cefn Parc area, so homes there can generate electricity as part of the "homes as power stations" initiative led by Swansea Council in collaboration with Cardiff University and the Welsh Government.
Joint deputy leader of Swansea Council and cabinet member for service transformation, Andrea Lewis, explained that the solar panel initiative was being funded by council housing rents and grants from Welsh Government.
"At a time when budgets are tight, the cost of energy is rising and there's clear demand to tackle climate change, this will help families not only during the cost-of-living crisis, but also for years to come," she said. "The investment will be part of wider action to insulate homes as part of our annual planned maintenance programmes."
"This latest initiative means 1,245 council homes in Swansea are due to have solar power support within four years. They'll help contribute to our ambition to be a carbon net zero council by 2030 and become a carbon net zero city by 2050."
"By retrofitting existing council houses with energy-saving equipment and improving insulation, we'll be helping families and households reduce energy consumption, modernise our properties and manage their bills," she added. "This programme is on top of our More Homes initiative which is aiming to build 1,000 new energy-efficient council properties within a decade – the biggest council housebuilding project for a generation."
A Swansea Council spokesperson further commented: "As with all council building and regeneration projects, as much of the investment as possible will be spent locally, protecting and creating local jobs and apprenticeships. Work is set to start on the solar panel projects on more than 330 homes in Sketty Park, 232 in West Cross, 214 in Waunarlwydd and 102 in Penyrheol.
"Upgrades have also been earmarked for council houses in other areas including Morriston, Fforestfach, Craig Cefn Parc, Garnswllt and Clydach. It's anticipated that the improvement programme will be extended in future years, subject to further funding support from Welsh Government."
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