Solar panels are being fitted to the roof of Tonbridge Swimming Pool
Work starts this week to fit solar panels at Tonbridge Swimming Pool, cutting the building’s running costs and its carbon footprint.
The 180 panels will be fitted to the roof, to allow the centre to generate its own renewable electricity, saving an estimated 16 tonnes of carbon emmissions per year. The pool, operated by the council's leisure partner, tmactive, will be open as normal while the work is carried out.
The investment in solar technology follows a recent council audit of emissions which found that more than half of the total greenhouse gas emissions from Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council buildings and operations were produced by its leisure facilities. Electricity use is the second biggest source of emissions from these sites.
It’s the latest in a series of measures to support the council’s drive towards a carbon neutral future. Other steps already taken to cut emissions include fitting solar panels at Larkfield Leisure Centre and developing an ‘eco café’ at Leybourne Lakes Country Park, which is powered by a combination of solar and a water source heat pump.
Cabinet member for climate change, Cllr Robin Betts, says: “Once fitted these solar panels will help us reduce our environmental impact considerably and enable the generation of clean and sustainable local energy for use by the leisure centre.
“We want to lead by example with the steps we are taking in response to the climate emergency. Decarbonising some of our major assets like our leisure centres moves us one step closer to our ambition to be carbon neutral by 2030.”