Wednesday 9 October 2013

Solar powered school opens its doors

A solar powered school that’s aiming to become energy self-sufficient is opening its doors to inquiring visitors.

John Ferneley College in Melton Mowbray was so happy with its solar panel project it decided to show it off. It wants other schools and colleges in the UK to see how they too can benefit.

Alongside an existing wind turbine and biomass boiler, the 50kW solar PV project is able provide electricity even on cloudy days. When the sun shines the school can teach its 1,000 pupils without any help from the National Grid.

The academy isn’t stopping there and is seeking planning permission to install an extra 100kW of solar capacity next year.

College Principal, Chris Robinson said: “We have a duty to the Melton community to lead the way on eco issues.

“Being able to generate our own electricity means we aren’t only talking the talk but walking the walk. We want to lead best practice and this is a key part of our strategy to eventually reduce our energy bill to £0."

He added: “The financial projections over the life span of the panels, boiler and turbine show that every year we are saving thousands of pounds which we can reinvest back into the pupils education. It also means we aren’t suffering from the sky high prices of fuel.”

Visitors will be able see a short seminar and take a tour around the school when opens up on the 24th October.