National Grid has launched a new £2.7 million venture to provide grants for solar projects to schools in South Wales, the South West and the Midlands.
Being explored in partnership with Solar for Schools, which supports installing solar panels on school rooves, the funding will help the organisation raise additional funding to enable around £10 million worth of solar projects to be installed on schools that would otherwise not be eligible for solar projects.
The funding initiative has been launched as part of a wider five-year pledge by National Grid to help schools in areas of high economic deprivation to reach net zero goals.
Ellie Patey, community engagement manager at National Grid, said: “This new fund aims to help more schools adopt solar power to decarbonise and to reduce energy costs. It’s also an important way to engage pupils in ways to reduce carbon and emissions.
“Working together with Solar for Schools means our grants can unlock significant financial and carbon savings, as well as educational benefits, over and above what could have been achieved working in isolation.”
Solar to provide both financial and education benefits
Two schools in Birmingham, the Ark Victoria Academy and Ark Kings Academy, have recently had new solar systems installed as part of the scheme. In the last month alone, the schools have saved £3,500, with it projected that the solar panels will save more than £1.2 million over their lifetime.
The projects are expected to save more than 1,153 tonnes of CO2 over their lifetimes. The savings made by the schools will be reinvested back into education or vital school infrastructure.
As part of the project, around 2,000 students at the two schools have participated in hands-on educational workshops, assemblies, and a library of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM)-related resources covering energy, efficiency, sustainability and economics.
Ann Flaherty, Solar for Schools UK director, said: “Our education programme links the solar on the roof with the curriculum in the classroom. We always say, learn from your school buildings not just inside them. By getting solar on the roofs of schools we’re empowering students and helping them see they can do something locally to reduce carbon, that helps nationally to meet targets, and that’s globally helping to reduce our emissions.”
