More than two dozen members of Community Energy Warwickshire have joined senior staff from South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust to celebrate the arrival of solar power at Stratford Hospital.

Members of the south Warwickshire based energy co-operative joined Trust Chief Executive Glen Burley and Energy Manager Siobhan Hill to see the 10 kilowatt array of solar panels in action and to discuss next steps. The group was joined by Paul Hutchens, Chief Executive of Eco2Solar, the company which installed the panels.

The panels were installed on 7 December and started producing electricity when the sun rose the following day. Power from the panels is used within the hospital, with the Trust paying for the electricity at a discount to its standard bills.

Community Energy Warwickshire is now working with the Trust and Eco2Solar on plans to install a larger array of 50 kilowatts at Warwick Hospital during January 2012. Community Energy Warwickshire will also be working with the Trust to encourage energy saving by staff at both Stratford and Warwick hospitals.