ENERGY bills at NHS properties across Dorset could drop by around £200,000 a year thanks to new solar panels.

Healthcare provider Dorset HealthCare has been awarded almost £1 million by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero from Great British Energy to install solar power and battery storage solutions to help drive down energy bills.

In Dorset, energy efficient solar panels will be installed at six sites.

The projects, from a £100m Great British Energy fund, are expected to deliver savings of around £8.6 million a year, and up to £260m over the panel’s lifetime across the NHS.

As part of work to meet NHS carbon net-zero targets, Dorset HealthCare is switching to eco-friendly, energy-efficient equipment – and helping staff go ‘green’ at the same time.

The Trust, one of Dorset’s biggest employers, says it is making great strides in reducing its carbon footprint and supporting the battle against climate change.

It already buys clean, renewable energy and has previously installed solar panels at five of its locations. By using a mix of solar, wind and hydro energy, this will offset around 3,000 tonnes of CO2.

Patrick McDermott, Dorset HealthCare’s head of sustainability and fleet, said: “We have made great progress over the last year in reducing our carbon footprint.

“We are committed to playing our part in improving the environment and are aiming to cut carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2030.

“Our target is to become a carbon net zero health service by 2040. It’s great we are making this change to clean and renewable electricity generated by solar panels.”

The installation of the panels is expected to start later this summer.