Enough electricity to make over 1,540,000,000 cups of tea generated by solar panels in Wrexham

Enough electricity to make 1,540,412,450 cups of tea has been generated by solar panels in Wrexham.

Up until a few years ago solar panels were a rare sight in Wrexham. Now however they are regular spotted on homes and schools across the county borough.

However in 2011 the local authority started its “largest ever installation” of solar panels on its council housing. In 2015 Wrexham also saw the opening of the first North Wales solar farm in Legacy.

Every new school now has solar technology incorporated into the design and any building improvements we make use solar panels whenever and wherever possible.

It is estimated that by this year over 30,000 had been installed on over 3,000 properties. These created enough electricity to make 1,540,412,450 cups of tea or 308,082,490 hours of watching TV.

This has meant that power stations have used less fossil fuels and 16,705,756 kg of carbon dioxide emissions were avoided.

In our buildings it’s estimated that by using solar energy we have generated 94,868,300 cups of tea or 18,973,660 hours of TV which has resulted in 1,027,40 kg of carbon dioxide reduction.

Wrexham Council is now inviting members of the public to have their say on how the local authority can continue responding to the climate emergency by becoming a carbon neutral organisation.

However proposals now being consulted on include changes to buildings operated by the local authority, tree planting and increasing the use of electric vehicles.

The proposals feature as part of the council’s draft Decarbonisation Action Plan, which was created off the back of a decision to declare a climate emergency last year

The plan concentrates itself concentrates on four main areas – Buildings, Transport and Mobility, Land Use and Procurement (how the council gets its goods and services).

A further breakdown of the themes of projects being considered are in the below graphic:

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We’ve come a long way since 2011 and we intend to continue to make Wrexham Council a carbon neutral organisation.

“This includes more than just using solar panels but also electric vehicles, energy saving as well as increased and improved planting of woodlands and wildflower meadows.”

You can take part in this consultation and give your views / make suggestions on the council’s plans to become more sustainable and sufficient, here.