27 October 2025

Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (PHU) will save even more money on its energy bills, thanks to extra solar panels funded by Great British Energy.

In September, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Great British Energy announced up to £75 million investment for multiple military sites, and more schools and NHS trusts, to roll out solar panels.

PHU has now been awarded a further £1.7m to install more solar panels at Queen Alexandra Hospital and Fareham Renal Dialysis Unit, helping to generate clean power and deliver further reductions in energy costs. The new panels are expected to be in place by Spring 2026.

The NHS is the single biggest public sector energy user, with an estimated annual energy bill of around £1.3 billion, that has almost doubled since 2019.  

Thanks to Great British Energy, the 34 trusts awarded funding will see estimated combined lifetime energy bill savings of up to £65 million over the next 30 years, to be reinvested in frontline services.  

In total, Great British Energy’s solar scheme is now worth up to £255 million, supporting around 250 schools, around 260 NHS sites and around 15 military sites across the country.

Deputy Chief Executive, Mark Orchard said: “This latest funding announcement to install more solar panels across our hospital sites is fantastic news and will mean we can save around £200k a year that can be used to invest into frontline care. It also builds on our progress to become a more efficient and sustainable organisation as set out in our recently published Green Plan.