Solar cells to save school CO2

12.00.00am GMT Fri 19th Mar 2010

Ashfield Primary School in Otley is undertaking a major eco project by installing 20 solar panels in a bid to save the planet.

The panels costing over £22,000 will be used to capture the sun's energy and convert it into electricity. The panels do not need direct sunlight to work and still generate some electricity on cloudy days. They will help to reduce the school's fuel bills and cut their carbon footprint.

When there is full sunshine, the 20 panels will produce 3,600 kilowatts. Over a full year, the panels should capture 2,813 kilowatt hours which is the equivalent of 6.5 tonnes of CO2. In total, the panels should provide 3.5% of the school's electricity annually.

The project is being funded by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, the school, and local ward councillors who are donating £5,000 from their ward based initiative fund. The panels have been ordered and will be installed in the near future. Marty Jopson, Otley resident and science presenter for the BBC's The One Show, is backing the project and will be attending the unveiling of the panels.

Cllr Ryk Downes (Lib Dem, Otley and Yeadon) said:

"These panels are state of the art and will save over £1,100 annually. We are very proud to make a contribution as the school will be helping to protect the planet and educating its pupils at the same time.

"I'm sure the kids will find the new panels fascinating and will enjoy finding out about what they do and monitoring how much energy is saved."