Solar panels are being put on rooftops at Norfolk prisons as part of the government drive to meet its net-zero climate change targets.
The Ministry of Justice has submitted plans to replace the existing roofing at HMP Norwich and install arrays of energy-saving solar panels.
It is part of a national programme of environmentally friendly upgrades at prisons and court buildings to help cut carbon emissions and save taxpayers’ money.
Similar plans for solar panels on the rooftops at HMP Bure, on the former RAF Coltishall site, are predicted to reduce existing electricity consumption by 17pc saving 79 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Meanwhile HMP Wayland has become the first in England and Wales to be fitted with ground mounted solar panels as part of the drive to make prisons greener.
More than 700 solar panels have already been installed at the prison near Thetford and are projected to save energy costs by £52,000 per year.
Prisons minister Victoria Atkins said: “I am delighted to see HMP Wayland become the first prison to reap the benefits of solar panels as part of our ambition to make significant savings for both the environment and the public purse.
“The initiative is part of the wider government action to build back greener, with more than £4 billion to construct sustainable prisons, and help achieve our commitment to reach net zero by 2050.”
In total 16,000 solar panels are to be put up at 19 prisons across England – cutting more than 1,300 tonnes of carbon and reducing energy use by 20pc, a move that will save around £800,000 a year.
Other projects in the pipeline include the installation of heat pumps, biomass boilers and an LED lighting replacement programme.
The government is also building four new zero-carbon ‘eco-prisons providing 10,000 prisoner places that cut energy use by half compared with existing jails.
In 2013 a prisoner at Norwich prison staged a roof-top protest for several hours.
The new plans would see the new roofing materials across multiple blocks of the Knox Road jail to allow solar panels to be fitted.
Similar environmentally friendly upgrades are being made to court buildings. Dozens of solar panels have already been fixed to the roof of Norwich Magistrates' Court.
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