Solar carport works at RJAH
Posted: 17 Feb 2026
Patients and visitors will be aware of ongoing work across The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital site to install new solar carports. These canopies will help reduce carbon emissions, lower energy costs, and support our long-term Net Zero objectives.
We are aware this work can be disruptive and want to apologise for the inconvenience, especially if you have struggled to find a parking space of late.
What is happening?
Contractors have completed the installation of the car park canopies within the Main Patient and Visitor Car Park and have now progressed to works within the staff parking areas.
Staff Car Park 1 is nearing completion, with only minor outstanding works remaining, which are expected to cause minimal disruption to parking. Works in Staff Car Park 3 have commenced and are currently scheduled for completion in early March.
Background on the funding
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced £100 million of funding from Great British Energy for NHS solar and battery storage projects. As part of this programme, RJAH was awarded £2.4 million to expand its solar generation capacity.
Why this work is important
The UK set a legally binding target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In 2020, the NHS became the world’s first health system to pledge a commitment to net zero, with the following milestones set against the 1990 carbon baselines:
To achieve an 80% carbon reduction by 2032
To achieve full net zero by 2040
Despite all our progress to date, the RJAH’s emissions in 2024 was just under 6,000 tonnes of CO2. To meet the 80% milestone, we must reduce our carbon emissions by a further 2,500 tonnes by 2032.
The current solar installation works will deliver an estimated annual carbon reduction of 230 tonnes, providing a clear scale of the reduction needed to be made in the next 6 years.
Further information
For further information on how the NHS is becoming net zero, please visit - https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/a-net-zero-nhs/.
More detail on how RJAH is contributing to the net zero, please see our revised Green Plan, which was published October 2025, and can be found here.
Thank you for your support.