More renewable energy production is essential for the country to meet its climate objectives.
But we want this to be achieved with the least impact on the environment, and when it comes to solar, our strong preference is "rooftops before rural".
Mid Suffolk District Council, alongside our Babergh District Council neighbours (with whom we share a workforce), has taken a pioneering approach to solar energy over a number of years.
How Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils are supporting local businesses to install solar on their rooftops
Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils have teamed up with West Suffolk Council to offer companies access to the successful Solar for Business initiative.
Businesses can now reduce their carbon emissions and save money on energy bills by signing up to have solar panels provided and installed on their premises, for free.
Electricity generated by the panels is then sold to the business at a rate lower than their current tariff, helping to slash energy bills and improve their bottom line.
Solar for Business has been running successfully in West Suffolk for nine years – helping over 100 companies to save a total of around £700,000 and 2,000 tonnes in harmful CO2 emissions per year.
The initiative has recently been extended to businesses across Babergh and Mid Suffolk.
To be eligible, businesses must be within West Suffolk, Babergh or Mid Suffolk's district boundaries, and must have a minimum electricity consumption of 5,000kWh per year. For a firm paying 25p/kWh this would mean electricity bills of around £1,250 per year.
It is a great example of your local councils working together and using our local knowledge and expertise to deliver initiatives tailored for our local businesses.
To find out more about the scheme, email environment@westsuffolk.gov.uk, call 01284 757631 or visit www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/solarforbusiness.
Installing solar on the rooftops of our own council buildings
Mid Suffolk and Babergh had already demonstrated its commitment to solar power with a pioneering £2.8m investment across a range of sites back in 2021/22.
This included:
Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre, Stowmarket (500 solar panels, 195 kWp, as well as an air source heat pump and air handling unit)
Stradbroke Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre (104 solar panels, 40.6 kWp)
Hadleigh Pool and Leisure (380 solar panels, 148.2 kWp)
Kingfisher Leisure Centre, Sudbury (294 solar panels, 111.7 kWp)
More than 100 leisure centre car parking spaces in Sudbury and Stowmarket were also covered with solar panelled carports – Mid Suffolk and Babergh were among the UK's first rural local authorities to trial the technology.
Seventy of the spaces under a solar canopy are located at Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre, installed to provide more than 20% of the centre's annual electricity demand. Rooftop solar at the centre contributes a further 18%.
Forty are located at Kingfisher Leisure Centre in Sudbury, which aims to provide over 16% of the centre's annual electricity demand, with rooftop solar at Kingfisher contributing towards a further 38%.
Each site also includes battery storage so excess energy produced during sunnier periods can be saved for later, as well as supplying electric vehicle charging points.
Although the funding pressures faced by all local authorities make retrofitting the entire stock of council housing with solar panels financially prohibitive, through its role as the local planning authority, expectations are set for developers building new homes within the districts.
Developers are encouraged to be as energy efficient as possible by utilising solar gain and providing low-carbon energy generation wherever feasible.
Mid Suffolk District Council wholly owns Gateway 14 Ltd, which is developing the Gateway 14 innovation and logistics park on the outskirts of Stowmarket, and is a part of the Freeport East site.
All units, including the 1.17 million sq ft distribution centre for The Range, boast either BREEAM excellent or good ratings, including smart energy systems, rainwater harvesting and solar PV arrays.
Mid Suffolk's new £18m Stowmarket Innovation Gateway on the site will incorporate a biosolar roof system, with green roofing and solar PV panels.
Supporting solar on the rooftops of community buildings
There is also support available to both businesses and community organisations through the Rural Business Growth Fund, offering capital grants of up to £15,000 to projects with a focus on sustainability and investment in net zero infrastructure.
This money is coming through the government's Rural England Prosperity Fund, with further information on the Heart of Suffolk website.
Community and environment charity Groundwork East has also partnered with local authorities in the area to deliver free and impartial expert advice to help businesses and organisations save energy, reduce their emissions and establish tailored decarbonisation plans – including installation of solar PV.
More information about the Net Zero Business Advisor can be found at carboncharter.org/suffolk-business-consultancy. Organisations can call 01473 350370 or email netzerosuffolk@groundwork.org.uk to speak to a Net Zero consultant.
Plans are also in development to place solar panels on up to 32 secondary schools across Suffolk.
This follows agreement in late 2024 by the Suffolk Public Sector Leaders group – which includes Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils – to provide £3.72 million in funding to the Schools Solar Installation & Climate Action Fund project.
The power generated will be sold at a discounted rate, saving schools money on their energy bills and lowering their carbon footprint.
Mid Suffolk and Babergh have also awarded more than £120,000 in developer contributions to community solar schemes over the last 18 months alone – enabling solar panels to be added to village halls across the districts.
Recently, this has included Blackbourne Community Centre, Elmswell, Walsham Le Willows Memorial Hall, and Glemsford, Rickinghall, Shimpling and Tattingstone village halls.
Finally, further funding is also available for community projects tackling climate change and carbon reduction through the Suffolk Climate Action Community Match Funder.
