{"id":1738,"date":"2026-04-09T08:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/?p=1738"},"modified":"2026-04-09T08:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:41:11","slug":"rochdale-shines-a-light-on-clean-energy-as-work-on-major-solar-farm-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/?p=1738","title":{"rendered":"Rochdale shines a light on clean energy as work on solar farm begins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff<\/p>\n<p><meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no\"><meta http-equiv=\"X-UA-Compatible\" content=\"IE=edge\"><meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><title>Rochdale shines a light on clean energy as work on major solar farm begins<\/title><meta name=\"description\" content=\"\"><meta name=\"keywords\" content=\"\"><meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index,follow\"><meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index,follow\"><meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\"><meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Rochdale shines a light on clean energy as work on major solar farm begins\"><meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"\"><meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"website\"><meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/press-releases\/rochdale-shines-a-light-on-clean-energy-as-work-on-major-solar-farm-begins\/\"><meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rochdale shines a light on clean energy as work on major solar farm begins\"><meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-case-study rte\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-case-study__wrap\">\n<p style=\"line-height:150%\" class=\"default\"><span style=\"font-size:11.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif\">Plans for a brand new solar farm in Heywood are powering ahead, with work beginning on site.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"line-height:150%\" class=\"default\"><span style=\"font-size:11.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif\">The 10 hectare site, at Chamber House in Heywood, will be transformed over the coming months, with the new solar farm set to produce enough energy to power 1,700 homes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"line-height:150%\" class=\"default\"><span style=\"font-size:11.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif\">The electricity produced will be supplied to the national grid and used to offset the council\u2019s annual energy bill, potentially saving the authority hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"line-height:150%\" class=\"default\"><span style=\"font-size:11.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif\">The project was made possible after Rochdale Borough Council successfully bid for \u00a33.3m funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-image rte\" data-anchor=\"\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-image__wrap\">\n<div class=\"rich-text-image__img-holder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rich-text-image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/o1nfmlou\/chamber-house.jpg?anchor=center&amp;mode=crop&amp;width=835&amp;height=474&amp;rnd=133243833886970000\" alt=\"Chamber House\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-image__text-container\">\n<p>Site of the Chamber House Solar Farm<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/javascript:\" class=\"js-read-more-rte read-more-btn\">Solution detail<span class=\"btn__link font-ico-plus\"><\/span><span class=\"btn__link font-ico-minus\"><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-case-study rte\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-case-study__wrap\">\n<p style=\"line-height:150%\" class=\"default\"><span style=\"font-size:11.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif\">Chamber House is only the second solar farm in the borough, following the installation of one at Rochdale Leisure Centre, which helps to power the facility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"line-height:150%\" class=\"default\"><span style=\"font-size:11.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif\">The Chamber House Solar farm will be able to produce 5.5 megawatts of electricity, which will make a significant contribution towards Greater Manchester\u2019s target of increasing renewable energy generation by<span style=\"color:#1b2038\"> 45 MW before 2024 across the 10 boroughs.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"line-height:150%\" class=\"default\"><span style=\"font-size:11.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif\">Liam O\u2019Rourke, cabinet member for climate change and the environment, said: \u201cIt\u2019s great to see this vital project heating up. It\u2019s really important for Heywood and the wider borough. All local authorities in Greater Manchester have pledged to become net zero by 2038 and schemes like this show that Rochdale is more than playing its part to help us all reach this important target.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"quote\">\n<div class=\"wrap quote__wrap\">\n<div class=\"swiper-container js-simple-quotes\">\n<div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n<div class=\"quote__holder\"><span class=\"quote__icon\"> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"36\" height=\"28\" viewbox=\"0 0 36 28\"><g fill=\"#F58220\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M12.319 0h3.648a2 2 0 0 1 1.838 2.788l-10.286 24A2 2 0 0 1 5.681 28H2.033a2 2 0 0 1-1.838-2.788l10.286-24A2 2 0 0 1 12.319 0zM30.319 0h3.648a2 2 0 0 1 1.838 2.788l-10.286 24A2 2 0 0 1 23.681 28h-3.648a2 2 0 0 1-1.838-2.788l10.286-24A2 2 0 0 1 30.319 0z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg> <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"quote__holder\">\n<p class=\"quote__text\">In addition to helping us to tackle the ongoing climate emergency, this scheme will shave thousands off the authority\u2019s annual energy bill, which is more important than ever, as costs continue to rise.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"quote__author\">Liam O\u2019Rourke, Rochdale Borough Council, <span class=\"quote__position\"> Cabinet Member &#8211; Climate Change &amp; the Environment<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-case-study rte\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-case-study__wrap\">\n<p style=\"line-height:150%\" class=\"default\"><span style=\"font-size:11.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif\">The new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/solar-farms\/\">solar farm<\/a>, which is expected to be operational during autumn this year, is one of a number of schemes the council is delivering to help tackle the environmental crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"line-height:150%\" class=\"default\"><span style=\"font-size:11.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif\">The borough\u2019s three largest leisure centres have all had solar panels installed on their roofs, as have a selection of primary schools and other council buildings, including the Green Lane Depot and some council-owned industrial units.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"line-height:150%\"><span class=\"ui-provider\"><span style=\"font-size:11.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif\">The project is being delivered by Vital Energi. Operations Manager at Vital Energi, David Oatt, said: \u201cThis is an ambitious project to create a major new solar farm capable of generating 5.5MW and is a significant step on Rochdale\u2019s net zero journey.\u00a0 We are delighted to be working in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council on a project which will contribute to a cleaner, greener Greater Manchester as well as drastically reducing the council\u2019s energy bills.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-image rte\" data-anchor=\"\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-image__wrap\">\n<div class=\"rich-text-image__img-holder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rich-text-image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/le3cua2z\/erdf-logos.jpg?anchor=center&amp;mode=crop&amp;width=835&amp;height=474&amp;rnd=133243849225970000\" alt=\"Erdf Logos\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/javascript:\" class=\"js-read-more-rte read-more-btn\">Solution detail<span class=\"btn__link font-ico-plus\"><\/span><span class=\"btn__link font-ico-minus\"><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff Rochdale shines a light on clean energy as work on major solar farm begins Plans for a brand new solar farm in Heywood are powering ahead, with work beginning on site. The 10 hectare site, at Chamber House in Heywood, will be transformed over the coming months, with the new solar farm set to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"ve_media_section":[3],"ve_media_year":[],"ve_sector":[],"class_list":["post-1738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","ve_media_section-press-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1738"},{"taxonomy":"ve_media_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_media_section&post=1738"},{"taxonomy":"ve_media_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_media_year&post=1738"},{"taxonomy":"ve_sector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_sector&post=1738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}