Salford City Council have agreed a deal that will see their Solar Plant plans accelerated, by partnering with an independent, not-for-profit centre of excellence.
The plans, which were announced in February, will receive a boost as they now will be able to access expert advice and guidance as well as European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grants to address the gap in funding.
The plan is to build a 3.79 hectare solar farm with 5,094 solar panels at Kenyon Way Little Hulton, which would provide enough clean energy to power almost 500 homes.
The site is expected to take 5 months to build, with work starting in early 2021.
As well as this, there are plans for a hydro-electric scheme on the River Irwell, which will generate enough to power over 200 homes, with a 2022 completion date.
Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, said:
“We are passionate about the environment and proactively looking at opportunities to help us achieve our long-term vision which includes to be carbon neutral by 2038.
“We take our responsibilities seriously and must do all we can to protect the planet for future generations.”
Friends of the Earth named Salford City Council as the most sustainable council in the North West, with £126m being invested into green space, creating new country parks and walking and cycle pathways across the city, as well as planting thousands of trees and investing in huge environmental infrastructure projects.
