Salford’s new state-of-the-art solar farm is set to begin construction in the coming months and should be operational by the end of 2022.
Councillors on Salford City Council’s Procurement Board today gave permission for the council to go out to competition through a new Greater Manchester Go Neutral Smart Energy Framework for contractors to install the farm in Little Hulton, paving the way for works to begin on site by Summer 2022 at the very latest.
The £2m farm will comprise of 5,094 solar panels and be built across 3.79 hectares on grassland to the west of Kenyon Way.
With a capacity of 2 megawatts, it is expected to generate 1.6 million kilowatt hours of clean electricity per year – enough power for 438 homes – and will reduce the city’s carbon output by 566 tonnes each year. Construction is expected to take approximately five months with the farm to be in operation for 25 years.
The Board also gave approval for the council to go out to competition for contractors to install the new solar car ports at Turnpike and Swinton Hall Road depots.
The £1m project is expected to have a further 0.64 megawatts of capacity, generate 0.4 million kilowatt hours of clean electricity and will save nearly 160 tonnes of carbon per year. The works are subject to sign-off by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Councillor Mike McCusker, Lead Member for Planning and Sustainable Development said: “Salford City Council is taking urgent action now to help achieve carbon neutrality by 2038 by investing in and delivering transformative infrastructure to help make Salford greener.
“Our state-of-the-art solar farm is a vital part of this, and I am delighted that work will soon begin on its construction. Combined with the solar car ports, we will be saving over 700 tonnes of carbon each year which will be significant in supporting Salford to tackle the climate emergency.”
