Rooftop solar panels to generate electricity for Isle of Wight net-zero holiday village

Plans for a net-zero holiday village have been unveiled for the Isle of Wight.

If approved, 40 eco-lodges and an eco-cafe would be built at Gurnard Green, near Cowes, with each lodge covered in solar panels.

The panels would generate enough electricity to meet the unit's demands, with enough surplus to power a small electric car to travel around 5,000 miles a year.

While the lodges would be connected to mains power, they would only use it in the depths of winter or at peak times when demand is unusually high.

Each holiday lodge would have two bedrooms and an electric car charger.

The pre-fabricated lodges are designed to last a minimum of three generations but can be easily moved, leaving no permanent impact on the site and having a net-zero carbon footprint.

The eco-cafe will also house two single apartments, one for a caretaker and the other as a holiday let.

The village has been proposed by ZED Eco Homes, for a field next to the Gurnard Pines holiday village.

A public meeting will be held to discuss the development and a forthcoming planning application, on Tuesday, May 31, at 6pm in the Gurnard Pines Cafe.

It will include a talk from Bill Dunster, the lead of the ZED Power architectural team.

ZED previously built five zero carbon homes in Hastings as well as a new beach cafe and water sports centre on Lancing Beach.