Solar Panels
Our Energy Strategy:
Reduce, Decarbonise, Smart.
Solar panels are a form of renewable energy on campus and fall under the Decarbonise workstream of our strategy. We are using up all viable roof space to install solar panels, and since 2010 all new building projects have incorporated solar panels and we have 1,300 KW already installed.
How Solar Energy Works
Solar energy is a renewable, emission-free power source that, aside from some simple maintenance requires no additional resources once installed. Photovoltaic (PV) cells capture light—even on cloudy days—and convert it into direct current (DC) electricity.
Through 2024, we have gone back to existing buildings and identified further viableroof space and in November 2024, we are turning on more than 1,000 new solar panels covering the equivalent of over 25 tennis courts increasing our existing capacity by another 45%. These new panels are expected to generate a combined peak output of 550 kW, enough to charge 78 electric cars simultaneously using standard chargers.
Over a year, these are expected to produce over 500,000 KWh of renewable electricity, equivalent to the annual usage of 192 households, or around the world over 90 times in a Tesla Model 3.
This is just phase 1 of our solar expansion plans covering existing flat roofs. During Phase 2, commencing in 2025 we will be focussing on existing pitched roofs before eventually considering ground mounted solar to meet as much of our peak electricity as possible.
See the breakdown of kW per building from some of Phase 1 and find more about different buildings by clicking on the boxes below.
The History of Solar at Warwick
Learn about what we've been working on and our plans for the future.
Our Energy Strategy
Our Energy Strategy is based on three principles: Reduce, Decarbonise, Smart.
Overall, we are looking to deliver a pathway of incremental, “no-regret” projects that will help the University achieve Net Zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 (direct emissions and the energy we buy).