Plans for new solar canopies to be built at Welsh hospital

Lewis Smith, Local democracy reporter

Plans to install solar canopies at the Princess of Wales Hospital have been handed in to Bridgend council.

They were given to the local authority in February and could eventually see a series of solar photovoltaic (PV) canopies brought in to the northern and eastern car parks of the Bridgend site.

The two separate applications say they would install canopies of up to 4m in height in the car parks which would allow a standard-sized car to park “comfortably” underneath.

These would include a mixture of “single mono” and “gull-wing” designs where the solar modules would be fixed to a steel frame and mounted at an upward angle from a central spine.

The applications say they would look to install approximately 650 kWp of solar canopies in the eastern car park and 950 kWp of solar canopies in the north car park.

They say between the two car parks this could offset around 180,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.

The applications said: “The purpose of the solar canopies is for renewable energy generation and consumption at the hospital thereby providing the hospital with an additional source of renewable electricity.”

They added: “The maximum height of the frames at their highest point is 4m and minimum height is 2.4m.

“The slimline design of the bases and ground anchor fixings ensures there will be no change to the layout of the existing car park where the system is proposed and no loss of parking spaces.”

The Princess of Wales Hospital was officially opened in 1986 and is located in Coity Road on the north-eastern outskirts of Bridgend town.

The site made headlines in 2024 after a critical incident was declared when a survey revealed extensive damage to the roof forcing patients to be moved and a replacement roof to be fitted.

The replacement roof was completed in October 2025 at a cost of around £28m.

The plans for the new solar canopies to be fitted in the car parks will be decided by Bridgend council’s planning department in the coming months.