The Department for Education (DfE) has appointed Mace, Aecom and construction project management firm Barker as the delivery partners for a major project to decarbonise educational settings.
The project will involve the installation of solar panels, plus other measures, including a “behaviour change” programme, to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions in 141 schools and colleges across the country in 2025 and 2026.
Priority will be given to schools in areas of deprivation in the North East, West Midlands and North West, as part of a wider programme to target at least 10 schools in each region this financial year.
The programme builds on a previous project by LocatED, an arm’s length body of the DfE, to implement decarbonisation measures in 50 schools since autumn 2024.
The project is part of Great British Energy’s £200m investment to install solar panels on approximately 200 schools and 200 NHS sites across the UK.
LocatED said estimates suggest that a typical school could save up to £25,000 a year on energy bills through these measures.
The DfE aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% across the education estate by 2037.
Mace, Aecom and Barker will start work immediately, with the first installations expected to be completed in schools by late 2025.
