Solar panels should be installed over car parks in Oxford to “bring energy bills down” and to “achieve net zero targets”, Liberal Democrat city councillors have said.

A motion which calls for the installation of solar panels will be debated by Oxford City Councillors at a council meeting later today (Monday, July 17), and it argues there is the potential to generate at least 4.2 megawatts (MW) of power from 2,801 car spaces.

According to estimates from Liberal Democrat councillor Laurence Fouweather, this would be enough to power up between 600 and 800 average sized homes.

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Oxford Mail: Solar panels above a car park in CaliforniaSolar panels above a car park in California

Mr Fouweather said: “Many local residents and businesses have been telling me about the crippling effect of spiking energy bills on their finances.

“A way to bring energy bills down, and cut our reliance on fossil fuels, is to support the production of local renewable electricity.

“In Oxford, there are many council owned car parks including the very large park and ride sites which have no productive use apart from storing cars.

“The electricity produced could generate an income stream to the city council and demonstrates that the council is fully behind the push for green energy and net zero.”

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The motion specifically calls for the feasibility of installing these solar panels at council-owned car park sites around Oxford to be examined and for a written report to be submitted to cabinet by the end of March next year.

Oxford Mail: Katherine MilesKatherine Miles (Image: Contributed)

City councillor and Liberal Democrat, Katherine Miles, said: “If we want to achieve our net zero target and also the county’s energy strategy targets then we have to look at using different spaces to generate electricity.

“It is well established that car parks can be used to install solar canopies so energy can be generated that way.

“We need to install capacity as soon as possible and there needs to be some expediency moving forward with utilising small spaces.”

The motion references the fact solar panels have been installed above car parks in Leicester and the Bentley Car Company announced the installation of a solar panel farm at their plant in Crewe which will cover 1,378 car spaces and generate 2.7 MW of power.

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Solar panels were installed by the insurance company Aviva in Norwich and this has generated 608 KW which is then used as energy to power their offices.

Back in 2019, an £175,000 solar car port at Leys Pools and Leisure Centre was opened in Blackbird Leys and this generates over 80,000 kilo-watt hours of green electricity per year.

The motion has highlighted that no car parking spaces would be lost because of the installation of the panels, and it is said that “cars would be protected from both bad weather and overheating due to sunshine”.

In addition, the motion asks the council to assess the potential income stream from solar farms once they are installed and fully operational.

The motion will be discussed at a city council meeting at 5pm today (July 17).

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Ed specialises in writing political stories for the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times. 

He joined in the team in February 2023, after completing a History undergraduate degree at the University of York and studying for his NCTJ diploma in London.

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