First Bus has invested 2.5 million GBP in installing over 6,000 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels across 20 of its depots.
These solar panels will enable the sites to generate their own renewable power for lighting, heating, office equipment and engineering bays.
This is part of the operator’s strategy to reduce the overall emissions generated by its bus operations.
In addition to enhancing sustainability, the installations will also reduce costs for local bus operations by mitigating the need to draw power form the grid.
Jon Tivey, Head of Environment for First Bus UK, said:We are delighted to announce the rollout of our solar PV programme across the UK, which will help us to significantly reduce our carbon emissions across 20 sites.
This is yet another milestone in our transition to a low-carbon future across every aspect of our operations. As one of the largest bus operators in the UK, it’s important that we lead the way in the industry and set an example for others to follow.
The solar panels are being installed by CorEnergy UK, with work on many of the sites already underway.
The entire project will be complete by mid-June, and the panels will then cover an area of over 11,000 square metres.
At peak output, these installations will produce a total of 2 million kWh of energy a year.
