New solar panels power greener future for local schools and family hubs

In recent weeks, Middleton’s Bowlee Park Community Primary School and Derby Street Best Start Family Hub in Heywood have both been fitted with renewable energy panels as part of a programme of works totalling £150,000.

This comes thanks to capital investment from Rochdale Borough Council and external funding provided by Great British Energy through a Greater Manchester’s Combined Authority Mayoral Renewables Fund.

With each setting now able to generate its own power on-site, this will help to save thousands of pounds on their energy bills each year.

Panels at Bowlee, which create 138.86 kilowatt-peak (kWp), now amount to 37% of the school’s annual electricity which will save an estimated £21,000 a year, while the panels at Derby St, which provide 49.82 kWp, will save up to £8,000 a year as it accounts for 33% of its energy use.

The installation of the panels not only reduce the buildings’ reliance on local power grids for electricity, it will also significantly reduce their carbon footprint as they help to produce less greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.

The installation at Derby St will save around 8.78 tonnes of CO2 annually, equivalent to planting 403 trees, and at Bowlee the saving will be approximately 25.38 tonnes CO2, equivalent to planting 1,166 trees.

Councillor Tricia Ayrton, cabinet member for climate change and environment, said:

“As a council, we are fully committed to taking meaningful action to reduce carbon emissions.

“Solar panels play a huge part in this and our wider efforts to protect the environment around us, so I am delighted to see them in place, and I look forward to seeing more of these panels installed on local buildings in the future.”

Councillor Rachel Massey, cabinet member for children’s services and education, said:

“Having solar panels on the rooftops of our schools and family hubs sends a very important message to our children and young people. It teaches them that caring for our planet starts in our own communities.

“It’s also a reminder to our next generation that every step we take, no matter how small, plays its part in wider efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and protect the wider environment around us.”

This work is integral to the council’s ongoing priorities to reduce energy demand for homes, buildings, transport and infrastructure across the borough as part of its wider climate strategy and renewable energy generation targets.

Having declared a Climate Emergency in July 2019, this work will also support the borough and council to become carbon neutral by 2038 in line with Greater Manchester’s target.

Aleks Hartshorne, headteacher of Bowlee Park Community Primary school, said:

“The installation of these solar panels is going to be very educational for the children and for us as school.

“It’s going to be a real big money saver but we’re also contributing to the wider efforts to save energy and work in a greener way which is good for the local environment.”

Greater Manchester Combined Authority lead for green city-region, Councillor Tom Ross, added:

“This programme is a great example of how Greater Manchester can work with partners to make a real difference for both schools and the environment.

“By installing solar panels, schools are not only saving thousands of pounds a year on their energy bills, they are also showing pupils the importance of taking action on climate change.

“It’s about creating a greener future while giving our schools more security and resilience when it comes to energy.”

Further schemes across the borough are outlined for later this year, including solar panels at the new Littleborough Best Start Family Hub, which is currently undergoing £2.9 million renovation works.