Over the last year, National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) has provided funding to seven schools across Birmingham and the Black Country to install roof-top solar panels to generate clean electricity, as part of a five-year commitment to spend £2.7 million helping schools reach net zero goals.
This has resulted in the schools saving £56,000 on their energy bills, as well as 55,571 tonnes of CO2 – equivalent to 142 million miles driven by an average sized petrol car.
The savings are the result of a partnership launched a year ago with Solar for Schools to provide grants and guidance. So far, seven schools in the Midlands have benefited, including Wallbrook Primary School in Dudley and Shireland Biomedical UTC in West Bromwich.
One of the first to adopt solar with a 49.8kWp system was Ark Kings Academy in Birmingham, which has saved nearly £14,000 on its energy bills and prevented 10 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
NGED’s Community Engagement Manager, Ellie Patey, said:
“This pioneering collaboration has proven greater than the sum of its parts, helping more schools to access solar panels and renewable energy education.
“Backed by £2.7m of National Grid Electricity Distribution funding over five years, the initiative is ensuring under-represented communities benefit from the net zero transition – unlocking multi-million-pound energy bill savings, reducing carbon emissions, and bringing green jobs to life for young people.”
Robert Schrimpff, CEO of Solar for Schools, said: “This is a transformational partnership which ultimately enables over £10m worth of solar projects to be realised. These projects will achieve up to six times more CO 2 savings than had NGED donated smaller systems to schools on their own. We’re very proud to have NGED on board with this grant scheme.”
Any schools interested in the initiative can visit https://funnel.solarforschools.co.uk/NationalGrid?r_done=1.