York Yearsley Swimming Pool solar panels energy bill boost

Yearsley Swimming Pool’s energy costs are estimated to fall by about 40 per cent following the installation of an 182-kilowatt hour (kWh) solar panel array in March.

Pool manager James Howard said an expected fall in energy costs of up to £30,000 would make a massive difference in ensuring they could operate for the long term.

It comes as large leisure units were forecast to face energy cost hikes of £200,000 by this year compared to prices before shocks after the coronavirus pandemic and Ukraine war.

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The estimates, from Cornwall Insight’s Business Energy Cost Forecast, were made in 2024 and do not account for further increases seen following the US-Israeli war on Iran this year.

Yearsley Swimming Pool received cash from the Great British Energy-backed York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Mayoral Renewables Fund to install the solar panels.

They are expected to save between £25,000 and £30,000 on running costs at the Clifton pool and reduce carbon emissions by around 29 tonnes.

UK swimming pools produce around 2 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions, around 900,000 tonnes a year.

Pool manager Mr Howard said they had already reduced the amount of power they were consuming from the grid by 51 per cent since February.

Newly-installed solar panels of the roof of Yearsley Swimming Pool (Image: Robyn Chowdhury)

The manager said: “We’ve started to see our consumption fall massively.

“April is the first time we’ve seen the bill and we’re looking at a reduction of about 40% on our energy bills.

“Reducing our operating costs will reduce the pool’s loss will make it more viable in the long term and keep it going for years and years into the future.

“We have a great relationship with York Council and we’re both very committed to keeping the facility open.”

Yearsley Baths was York’s first swimming baths when it opened in the 1850s.

The pool as it is known today was called New Yearsley Baths at the time and was gifted to the people of York by Joseph Rowntree in 1908.

It is the only 50-yard (45.7m) Edwardian swimming pool in the north of England.

The pool, in Haley’s Terrace, is currently heated by gas but it historically used steam supplied from the neighbouring Rowntree factory.

The baths were at risk of closure in the 1990s and in 2014.

Campaigners rallied to save it and saw off both of the closure threats.

It is currently operated by GLL Ltd which runs York’s four leisure centres.