Peterborough villages to be given solar panels in bid to cut costs and carbon emissions

Three Peterborough villages are being given new solar panels in a bid to cut costs and carbon emissions.

Peterborough City Council is awarding funding to Marholm Village Hall Trust, Wansford Parish Council and Northborough Parish Council.

The funding has been provided by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) as part the Net Zero Villages initiative, which will see solar panels and solar lighting installed on buildings owned by the groups.

Councillor Angus Ellis, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “We are fully committed to working with partners and community groups to help reduce carbon emissions and are making good progress with this ongoing vital work.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in this project for their efforts and I look forward to seeing the new solar panels and lights installed. I’m sure that this work will have a positive effect in these communities for years to come.”

The initiative is part of the council’s ongoing work to reduce carbon emissions across the city of Peterborough and surrounding areas.

Having declared a climate emergency in 2019, the authority is committed to reducing its own organisational emissions to net-zero by 2030 and supporting the area on its decarbonisation journey.

Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said: "The Net Zero villages initiative is a vital programme empowering rural communities with the funding they need to make environmentally friendly changes and achieve our national Carbon Net Zero goals.”