Golf club plans to build a solar farm

A golf club in the West Midlands plans to apply for planning permission to build a solar farm which should help it achieve ‘Net Zero’ by 2030.

Copt Heath Golf Club says it is in discussions with Solihull Council with a view to submitting a planning application for the solar farm on land beside the 16th fairway.

The potential £300,000 investment is expected to generate 220,000 kw hours per annum.

This comes as the club has invested more than £50,000 in solar energy panels on its clubhouse roof.

Since the installation was completed earlier this year, the club has saved nearly £5,000 in electricity costs and is on target to cut bills by £12,000 per annum. It has also resulted in the reduction of CO2 emissions by more than 3,100 kg to date – equivalent to planting 190 trees.

Copt Heath’s Neil Ridding, who chairs the club’s environmental and facilities committee, said: “We brought in energy consultants who were able to demonstrate how much energy we were consuming and where it was coming from.

“As well as reducing costs, we strongly believe that we should do all we can to protect the environment by using natural resources, as this will only benefit the course and our members in the long-term.”

Future plans include creating a water storage reservoir alongside the course practice area by extending an existing Environmental Agency license to draw water from a bore hole – an initiative which will help maximise natural resources and reduce waste, whilst protecting the course during summer drought conditions.

Elsewhere, the club is committed to investing in more environmentally friendly grounds equipment for the greenkeeping team and installing electric car charging points for members.

Sir Terry Morgan, chairman of Copt Heath, concluded: “As one of the region’s leading golf clubs we have a responsibility to do all we can to protect the environment and our course for future generations. By setting an emissions target of Net Zero by 2030 we are demonstrating a real commitment to getting things done.”

At least two other English golf clubs have also stated that they play to be Net Zero. Fynn Valley Golf Club in Suffolk made the announcement after installing 100 solar panels on its greenkeeper shed, while The Belfry has also set itself a deadline of 2030.

Meanwhile, equipment manufacturer, PING, has taken the next steps towards sustainability by installing 655 energy saving solar panels onto the roof of its headquarters in Gainsborough in the shape of the PING logo.

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The panels will produce 250,000 kw hours of energy per year of which 71.5 percent will be consumed first hand by the business within day-to-day operations.

This will have a significant impact on PING’s energy consumption and result in the organisation being 41.5 percent self-sufficient in terms of energy use. Any energy not used will be put back into the grid to ensure there is no waste from the solar panels.