Council spends £8.2m to reduce its carbon footprint

After its refurbishment and official reopening, Storrington Library now runs entirely on renewable energy

West Sussex County Council says it has significantly reduced the carbon footprint of some of its buildings.

The authority has spent £8.2m on new heating and insulation systems at seven libraries, six fire stations and a day centre.

It said this will prevent more than 200 tonnes of carbon being released into the atmosphere each year.

One library, Storrington, is now running completely on renewable energy, the council said.

The new technology includes heat pumps to replace gas boilers, the installation of solar panels and new windows and building insulation.

Deborah Urquhart, cabinet member for environment and climate change, said: “Storrington Library, with its two air source heat pumps and solar panels, is now capable of running entirely on renewable energy.

"This saves more than 12 tonnes of carbon from being released into the atmosphere each year, the equivalent of driving from Chichester to Horsham 1,200 times in an average petrol car.

“This decarbonisation project supports our target to be a carbon neutral and climate resilient organisation by 2030, and we are already considering how to fund and carry out further work to reduce the carbon footprint of many other county council buildings.”

Central government's public sector decarbonisation scheme contributed £1.4m towards the latest work.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.