Jacob Panons - South East

Sun, September 14, 2025 at 11:37 AM GMT+5:30

Solar panels on leisure centre rooftops have helped generate enough energy to power 370 homes or 500 electric vehicles for a year, a council says.

Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) said five of its leisure centres had generated one million kWh of renewable energy.

Withdean Leisure Centre's solar panels produced the most, with more than 500,000 kWh of electricity generated.

Moulsecoomb Leisure Centre, Portslade Sports Centre, Prince Regent Sports Complex and Stanley Deason Leisure Centre generated the remainder.

The solar power generated is helping to reduce operating costs and emissions, the council says.

BHCC said 97% of the energy generated from solar panels on the Prince Regent Sports Complex is consumed by the facility.

Matt Wickham, chief operating officer at Freedom Leisure, the not-for-profit leisure trust that operates the facilities, said: "These solar panels are cutting costs, lowering emissions and making our centres more sustainable for the future."

Any excess electricity generated is exported back to the grid, providing an income to help operational costs.

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