New solar panels to save money and produce clean energy

Guy’s and St Thomas’ will generate clean power and save money on its energy bills, thanks to newly installed solar panels at our sites.

Last year, we received £667,000 from Great British Energy to install solar panels across five of our community health centres across Lambeth and Southwark.

We expect to save around £57,000 a year through the rollout - savings that can be reinvested into frontline services. The panels will also help the Trust reduce around 50 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, a key way of reducing our environmental impact through our Green Plan.

Solar panels have been installed at the following sites:

• Bermondsey Health Centre
• Wooden Spoon House
• Bowley Close Rehabilitation Centre
• Lambeth Community Care Centre
• Minnie Kidd House

The solar arrays at Bowley Close, Minnie Kidd and Wooden Spoon are paired with battery storage which will allow us to store extra energy to use when we need it. At these sites, we can generate 50% of the electricity we use annually.

Tendai Wileman, Executive Director of Corporate Development, Chief of Staff, and Executive Lead for Sustainability at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “This marks a key step forwards in our pledge to protect the environment while continuing to provide high-quality care for our patients. 

“Installing solar panels at our community health centres will help us reduce our bills, produce clean energy and deliver on our Green Plan.”

Our Green Plan to 2028 sets out how we will deliver environmentally sustainable healthcare over the next three years.

This builds on our existing actions at the Trust to reduce waste, improve local air quality and support patient recovery and staff wellbeing through access to our green spaces.