1. Governance and Responsibility
Do you have a dedicated person or team responsible for solar energy investment and/or sustainability energy initiatives within your organisation? If so, please provide their role/title (personal names are not required).
The Energy Programme Manager leads on projects relating to retrofit of residential properties, County Council properties and renewable energy initiatives. They are supported by the Climate and Ecological Emergency Officer and work closely with Devon County Council’s (DCC’s) Estates Team.
2. Current Solar Deployment
How many solar panel installations (PV systems) do you currently operate across your estate?
There are 21 installations on DCC buildings, at least 14 on maintained schools and 21 on County Farm buildings.
What is the total installed capacity of these systems (in kWp)?
We do not hold information about the total kWp installed.
What proportion of your organisation’s energy usage is currently provided by solar generation?
It was circa 7% of electricity usage in 2023/24 and circa 2.5% of total energy usage.
3. Investment & Strategy
Does your organisation have a documented investment strategy for expanding the use of solar panels or increasing onsite renewable energy generation? If so, please provide a copy of or link to the relevant strategy or plan (or summarise key points if not published).
DCC has a Carbon Reduction Plan is available from this page of our website Environmental performance action plans – Environment
4. Solar and Net Zero Commitments
Does solar energy form part of your organisation’s Net Zero / Carbon Reduction Strategy?
Yes, please refer to the information provided in response to Question 3.
If yes, how is progress against this strategy communicated to the public (e.g. via website, reports, dashboards, etc.)?
We publish an annual report on our website and issue press releases.
5. Future Plans Are there any planned solar panel projects or expansions within the next 3 years? If yes, please provide high-level details (e.g. number of sites, scale of deployment, approximate timescales).
We will be fitting a 36.8 kWp and a 12kWp PV systems on roofs as part of projects funded with PSDS4 next year. We are exploring further solar panel projects but they are not at a stage where we can provide details.
Have you conducted any feasibility studies on increasing solar capacity in the past 3 years? If so, can these be shared?
We have conducted a high level review of renewable energy opportunities on DCC’s estate.
This information is exempt from disclosure under Regulation 12(5)(e) of the Environmental Information Regulations (Confidentiality of Commercial/Industrial Information).
This confidentiality is protecting the legitimate economic interests of Devon County Council because it is a competitive market to apply for a grid connection (first come, first served) and so our ability to develop these projects would be affected if the locations that we are hoping to get a grid connection were in the public domain at this time. If we were to release this information at the current time, that confidentiality would be adversely affected.
The Council has considered the public interest in releasing this information and recognises there is a public interest in openness and transparency. However, there is a stronger public interest in preventing a negative impact on the ability of the Council to obtain value for money in the future. Therefore, the balance of public interest weighs in favour of withholding this information from disclosure.
6. Procurement & Partnerships
Does your organisation currently use any third-party companies or frameworks to deliver solar energy solutions or manage installations? If yes, which ones?
DCC has a Teckal exemption with Norse Group for all building-related services, which includes its subsidiary SW Norse. SW Norse is responsible for all property maintenance issues.
Are there any upcoming procurement exercises planned relating to solar energy or wider renewable energy solutions?
Any procurement exercises not covered by the Teckal exemption with Norse Group are published through the Supplying the South West Portal.
7. Battery Storage
Do you currently use battery storage alongside your solar panels?
We do not have any battery storage at the moment.
Are there plans to invest in battery storage in future?
There are no firm plans but it will be considered in any future projects.
8. Funding
Has your organisation accessed or applied for any external funding to support solar energy projects (e.g. SALIX, Public
Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, LEP funding)?
Yes – Public Sector De-carbonisation Scheme (PSDS)
9. Barriers
What are the main barriers your organisation faces to further adoption of solar energy (e.g. funding, planning restrictions, roof suitability, internal resource)?
The two main barriers are Funding/financing and internal resource.