More solar panels could be harnessed by a Devon council in Net Zero bid

New solar panels could be on the way

A Devon council is investigating opportunities for more solar panels on some of its buildings after the installation on its leisure centres helped combat emissions.

The three leisure centres in Mid Devon all now have some form of renewable energy provision, including solar panels and heat pumps, which has not only reduced the cost of running them but also lowered carbon emissions.

Mid Devon District Council’s cabinet heard that the difference in solar panels at its leisure centres compared to five years ago was “pretty massive”.

The comments came as the council saw its carbon emissions for the 2024/25 financial year rise marginally by 2 per cent to 18,364 tonnes, although those include so-called Scope 3 emissions, which include things it does not have direct control over, such as the amount of carbon spent in the production of purchased goods.

In spite of the overall rise, emissions from its buildings and social housing stock reduced, while emissions from its fleet of vehicles remained broadly unchanged.

And in its leisure centres, emissions dropped around 17 per cent from 585 tonnes of CO2 to 484 tonnes.

“We’re looking at installation [of solar panels] on other assets and we hope to have an announcement on that soon,” said Jason Ball, Mid Devon’s climate and sustainability specialist.

“And we’re hoping to look at [potential installation] at a broader range of assets across the estate. How to do that well can be tricky but we’re working with South West Net Zero to get the best advice.”

He added that the council had recently been ranked in the top 20 per cent of similar local authorities for its climate action, and that it had made real improvements.

Councillor Gwen Duchesne (Liberal Democrat, Halberton) the cabinet member for parish and community engagement, said the overall rise figure “obscured our cut to emissions”.

“The decarbonisation of Tiverton and Crediton leisure centres has been an important step and our social housing stock has a significantly lower carbon footprint,” she said.

“We are focusing on elements in our control and we act on opportunities to invest and act to influence those we do business with.”

Emissions from the council’s social housing stock dropped by 751 tonnes, the analysis states, with emissions from its buildings falling by 113 tonnes, mainly due to air- or ground-sourced heat pumps.

Cllr Duchesne added that the council was focusing on building new net-zero council properties, and that this investment would show in its next Net Zero report.

Officers were asked why the council didn’t have more electric vehicles in its fleet, but various concerns were raised on this point.

One key factor was that staff who are on call, especially those who respond to emergency repairs on behalf of social housing tenants, needed to be able to travel at short notice.

The worry about EVs would be that chargers wouldn’t be available near such workers’ homes, and even if they were, there could be a possibility that charging could take too long, and mean an on-call staff member was stuck without transport.

Officers said they had even considered the possibility of installing EV chargers at some employees’ homes, but again, various issues frustrated this idea, such as whether workers own their own homes, or whether the electricity infrastructure in older properties could actually work with a modern EV charging system.

Councillor Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat, Bradninch), the leader of the council, said the work to cut the council’s emissions had been “phenominal”.

“This council is still persevering with our Net Zero targets and we are not denying the climate change that is very much impacting the entire planet,” he said.