As part of Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) Powering Our Schools project, Barker have been appointed ‘Owners Engineer’. Working in collaboration with GMCA, Barker will locate effective routes to market, unlock funding mechanisms and ensure consistent technical and regulatory scrutiny of PV system designs and installation.
Launched in 2022, Powering Our Schools aims to help schools add solar PV to their buildings, in turn helping the region’s push to be carbon neutral by 2038.
GMCA have engaged with over 100 schools and hosted multiple engagement sessions across various school types and local authorities. The current portfolio consists of 35 schools across six of Greater Manchester’s local authority areas in a collective purchase tender exercise set to be launched via Crown Commercial Services. This includes working with Academy Trusts to support their needs.
Central to the project is a collective purchase scheme, open to all schools in Greater Manchester. The scheme aims to offer competitive pricing through bulk purchasing of solar panels, centralised support from GMCA and high-quality installation from local suppliers.
Edwin O’Connell, Partner and Sustainability Lead at Barker said, `The Powering Our Schools project is a fantastic opportunity for Greater Manchester schools to accelerate their sustainability goals. Through a process of collective purchase, this scheme will drive economies of scale, greater accountability, value for money and long-term impact in the education sector. The environmental and financial benefits of solar PV are immense.’
The Powering Our Schools project is a fantastic opportunity for Greater Manchester schools to accelerate their sustainability goals.
As Owners Engineers, Barker will be supporting GMCA, Local Authorities and Academy Trusts with an end-to-end service from pre-contract surveys, conceptual design, and procurement through to project delivery of the solar installations.
Greater Manchester is adopting an ambitious approach to climate action, Powering Our Schools is just one of the many initiatives forming part of its five year environmental plan to encourage the community to take action by making better choices, investing in and embracing more sustainable practices.
Barker are excited to be a part of this ambitious programme and look forward to delivering it successfully.
Read the announcement in Manchester Magazine