Oakland Care goes greener with installation of 340 solar panels

As part of their ongoing sustainability strategy leading care home provider, Oakland Care, has announced the installation of 340 solar panels at two of its care homes.

Woodland Grove in Loughton, Essex, is the first to benefit from the investment in green technology, with 170 solar panels installed at the care home. Alongside the capacity to generate 65,383KWh per annum and provide a meaningful reduction to the cost of the care home’s electricity bills, the panels also have the potential to save 17 tonnes of CO2 each year – equivalent to driving 85,000 miles in a petrol car.

Shortly following this will be the addition of another 170 new solar panels at Oakland Care’s Beechwood Grove care home in East Sussex.

The work at both care homes has been undertaken in partnership with Volt Group.

The two care homes are the first in Oakland Care’s portfolio to be retrofitted with solar panels. It represents yet another important step on the sustainability journey of the ‘greener choice’ of care home providers.

Care homes are seen as ideal places for solar panels due to the nature of their 24/7 operation which allows for 100% of the generated green energy to be used within the home.

Following the completion of the work at both care homes, a period of in-depth analysis will be undertaken to understand the exact benefits of the installation before embarking on the next phase of work.

This announcement complements a strategy being deployed at Oakland Care’s new developments as well with the currently constructed Harpenden Springs in Hertfordshire set to see 125 solar installed on purpose-designed slanted roofs once complete, generating the required power for the care home. Richard Dooley, Director of Development at Oakland Care, said:

“We’re delighted to announce this investment into the retrofitting of solar panels at two of our care homes. It demonstrates a big step forward against our environmental strategy and is further evidence of our industry-leading approach to combatting the climate crisis.

“We are always looking at ways to reduce our impact on the environment and pursue a more sustainable way of operating as a care home provider. The addition of solar panels presents an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to this through the generation of green energy which will be used in its entirety. “Alongside this it also presents an opportunity to create meaningful savings in our utility costs at each of the care homes, which can then be redirected into other impactful and purpose-driven areas of operation.”

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