Eco-church powered by the sun

Solar panels have been installed on the roof of St Michael’s Church Centre in Bristol, which is expected to reduce electricity costs to almost nothing.
Twenty-six solar panels have been installed at the Vivian Street church to generate about 4,200 units of electricity each year and save an estimated £780 each year.

The project is expected to meet the majority of the church’s electricity costs and cut carbon dioxide emissions by two tonnes each year. Inside the church, visitors will be able to see live information showing how much energy has been generated by the system and the carbon dioxide savings. The £20,695 cost was met by £10,347 from the Government’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme, £6,248 from EDF Energy’s Green Fund and £4,100 in donations from the local community, plus further community donations at the planning stage. The project is believed to be one of the first of its kind on a church building in Bristol.

The Reverend David Moss said: “The scaffolding is down and the solar panels are looking great. We’ve had some bright, sunny days and it is exciting watching the amount of green energy generated increasing all the time. Living in a city, with lots of pollution and main roads running through our community, people are very aware that we have to make changes. We have to change our way of living to reduce our carbon footprint. “This project was driven by a few really committed individuals for whom global warming is a vital issue. They gave the money to get this idea off the ground - one of them simply said they wanted to make a positive contribution to the world before they died. Our hope as a church and community is that this is the first step and that we will go on making improvements to reduce our carbon footprint using the capital we save.”

Jo Steven, who leads EDF Energy’s Green Fund, said: “The members of this church are really keen to reduce carbon emissions and encourage environmental responsibility in the wider community. We are proud to support this project at St Michael’s Church Centre. We hope it will increase awareness about renewable energy and inspire visitors to consider how they can act to reduce their own impact on the environment. Not all of us can install solar panels but we can all reduce our carbon footprint through lifestyle changes and energy efficiency.”

The church is used daily by the wider community, including a playgroup, vulnerable parents’ projects, clubs, evening classes and for worship. The four local primary schools and other users of the centre will be able to track live, statistical information about the solar panels from a computer. The solar panels are the first stage of an energy-saving and generation programme at the church centre. The church members plan to invest the money saved through the solar panels to help fund future projects, such as roof insulation.

EDF Energy has awarded £3.7million to 221 renewable energy projects since the Green Fund was launched in 2001, including £1.3million to 89 projects in schools, nurseries and colleges. The fund supports renewable energy projects which produce power from the sun, wind, water and geothermal sources that reduce greenhouse gases linked to global warming. Awards of up to £30,000 are available for projects in Great Britain and such funds have helped schools, charities, local authorities, churches, water mills and other non-profit organisations to generate clean, green energy in their own community. More information at: www.savetodaysavetomorrow.com

"We have 113 bulbs. After a year long project we have replaced all our old style 60 watt bulbs with energy efficient ones. This gives us two advantages:
 - More light for less power; We get 75w of light for 15w power consumption.
 - They last eight times longer which is good for us as the ceiling is 4.5 meters up so we don’t have to climb the ladder so often!

So we are saving 45w of power on every bulb, and we have 113 of them! We did some fund raising and people sponsored a bulb each. It took us over a year and we finished last week. The church is brighter and we are saving money."

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