MS questions value for money in hospital car park solar panel plans

Multi-million pound plans to cover a hospital car park with solar panels could offer a poor financial return and increase parking pressures, according to a Conservative Senedd Member.

Earlier this year, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) unveiled plans to cover the car park at the Grange Hospital in Cwmbran with a canopy of solar panels, at a cost of £3.3 million.

The solar panels would generate around 645,000 kWh of electricity per year – enough to power 180 households.

The health board has said it would take 19.7 years for there to be a return on the investment, which has been funded by the Welsh Government. However, Tory MS Natasha Asghar has argued it could take even longer.

“Using a more realistic figure for electricity prices it’s closer to 24 years, which means the scheme will barely break even, if it ever does,” said Ms Asghar, who represents the South Wales East region.

“I’ve done some quick research on electricity prices and seen that large commercial users are paying around 21.7 pence per kWh. On that basis, the project won’t pay for itself for almost 24 years, by which time the solar panels will be nearing the end of their life.”

“That feels like a really bad use of public money which could have been better spent on much-needed improvements to facilities at the Grange.”

More than 300 car parking spaces will be temporarily lost at the hospital while the solar panels are being fitted. However, land allocated for a helicopter pad will be used for parking to cover the loss of 150 of these spaces during the works.

“Spending over three million pounds on a scheme that will take decades to repay and cause temporary, but serious, parking disruption raises real questions about spending priorities and whether this project truly delivers value for money,” continued Ms Asghar.

She called on ABUHB to instead “concentrate on sorting out A&E waiting times” rather than “investing millions of pounds into renewable energy schemes which may not provide a realistic financial return”.

Ms Asghar has written to the Senedd’s Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee, as well as health board chief executive Nicola Prygodzicz, calling for a review into the project.

An ABUHB spokesperson said: “The solar canopy at the Grange is part of a wider Welsh Government-funded Invest to Save programme, designed to deliver both financial savings and carbon reduction across our estate.

“While the solar canopy element has a longer payback period of 19.7 years, the full programme of our energy-saving projects is projected to pay back within 11 years, with ongoing financial savings beyond that – which will be used to support frontline NHS services.”

The spokesperson added: “We are hugely grateful to Welsh Government for their investment in our energy-saving projects, which help the health board save money, reduce our carbon footprint, and continue focusing on delivering high-quality patient care.”