THE Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has received grant funding to install 2,725 solar panels, which will save the Trust hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

The estimated cost saving is £6.5-million over the lifetime of the panels.

The solar panels will be installed at 11 sites in Cornwall. One site will receive a battery storage system.

The sites to benefit are: Bodmin Community Hospital, Liskeard Community Hospital, Longreach House at Redruth, Camborne Health Office, Bellair Health Office at Penzance, Camborne Redruth Community Hospital, Falmouth Community Hospital, Helston Community Hospital, Launceston Community Hospital, St Barnabas Community Hospital at Saltash and Stratton Community Hospital.

The panels will be fitted thanks to a national funding grant of almost £2.2-million.

Alan Bean, sustainability programme manager for the trust secured the funding: "We are grateful to our staff who are working hard to deliver these projects. They will lead to a significant reduction in our carbon footprint and operating costs.

"The electricity generated by the solar systems will be roughly the same amount used in 518 homes.

"Overall, we will reduce the electricity we buy from the grid by about 30 per cent. This will save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

"The cost savings could be used to improve patient care or fund other carbon reduction projects. This is a key moment in our efforts to achieve 'healthier outcomes for people, the planet and pounds'. That is the vision for our Net Zero programme."

The news follows the Trust being awarded over half a million pounds from the NHS Energy Efficiency Fund (NEEF).

The bulk of the NEEF grants will be used for LED lighting upgrades and to install solar panels. The funds will also cover upgrades to building management systems.