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Solar farm 'supplied whole hospital site over summer'

Andrew DawkinsWest Midlands
News imageThe Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Three men are in the foreground looking at the camera, with Rennalls on the left wearing an orange hi-vis jacket and the other two wearing a yellow hi-vis jacket. They are standing in front of a line of blue panels going from the right back to the far left, with trees in the background.The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Alton Rennalls, from company Vital Energi, trust chair Sir David Nicholson and councillor Bhupinder Gakhal (left to right) were pictured at the site, which features more than 15,000 solar panels

A solar farm has supplied an entire hospital site with energy since April on account of the recent sunshine, trust bosses have said.

Bowman's Harbour Solar Farm in Wednesfield - which opened in 2024 - also provided roughly 75% of New Cross Hospital's electricity between April 2025 and March.

Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust said the site further delivered an annual carbon reduction of about 1,450 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

The project is expected to save the trust an estimated £15m to £20m over 20 years and reduce the trust's reliance on electricity from the national grid.

The site was developed through a partnership between the hospital organisation, City of Wolverhampton Council and Vital Energi, a company that provides low carbon energy generation.

News imageThe Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust An aerial view showing the site of blue panels in the middle of the photo, going from near the left to the right. Many houses are at the bottom of the image, with other buildings including three tower blocks and fields in the distance.The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
The site is about the size of 22 football pitches

Trust chairman Sir David Nicholson said its first responsibility was "of course, to provide the best possible care for our patients".

But he added the organisation also had "a responsibility to think about the environment in which we deliver that care and the impact we have on the planet".

"This has been brought into even sharper focus during the heatwave conditions we have experienced recently," he said.

News imageThe Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Six people in hi-vis jackets are by a green ribbon and what appears to be an open green gate on the far right. Two men and two women are on the left and one of the two men on the right is holding scissors around the ribbon. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
It has been officially opened after being developed through a partnership including the trust and council

The council said it was "wonderful" to see a former landfill site "given a new purpose, generating clean renewable energy".

Cabinet member for city transport, Bhupinder Gakhal, said the project supported the authority's ambition "to create a cleaner, greener and more sustainable Wolverhampton by working with all sectors".

The solar farm, which officially opened on Thursday, was "a fantastic example of partnership working at its best", he added.

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