Sunshine energy at hospital

The installation of the Lakin Road site’s 204 solar panels was complete on Saturday after members of the volunteer-run Community Energy Warwickshire spent the past 15 months working on the scheme with South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital.

It is the first time an NHS trust has worked with a community group on a renewable energy project.

The group raised the £110,000 cost of the scheme, which has also paid for the installation of 52 panels at Stratford Hospital, by inviting people to become shareholders.

Together, the two hospitals are expected to generate about 50,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year - equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of about 15 average homes.