Help Support Solar Schools

Posted: 12th Jun 2012

As part of the government’s initiative to make the UK a greener and more sustainable country, the
government are encouraging not only homeowners to consider solar panels, but businesses and
schools too. In fact there are many benefits to becoming one of the growing list of Solar Schools in
the UK.

What is a Solar School?

A Solar School is part of a wider project which helps schools generate their own electricity from
solar panels but without the hefty cost that such an investment often accumulates. As a solar panel
installation on a school can cost upwards of £8,000, some schools may think that generating their
own electricity is just out of their reach, however by becoming part of Solar Schools your school can
benefit from support, resources and a co-ordinator with the aim of raising the cost of solar panels
for your school from within the local community.

This is achieved with the help of online resources such as a dedicated website which encourages
local businesses, supporters and families to sponsor part of a solar panel by donating online,
attending fund raising events or buying vouchers from the school. Each time enough money is raised
to buy one solar panel, that panel will be completed on the website so that the school and donators
can see how much their efforts have helped.

There are also many other online and offline resources that Solar Schools can help with, all designed
to support and help schools raise funds for the cost of solar panel installations. Not only will this help
your school to keep down energy bills but it will also be a useful resource for children and staff to
learn about climate change, renewable energy and how individuals can help to make a difference.

So why should schools participate in the Solar Schools Project?

Well once the solar panels are in place they belong entirely to the school. This means that over a 25
year period the school can expect, on average, to save around £8,000 on energy consumption and
make around £17,000 in profit through the government Feed-in Tariff initiative. This money can be
spent on school equipment, further green projects or however you see fit.

Not only will schools be making a profit from becoming greener, they will also be helping the planet
by cutting down on some of the 4 million tonnes of CO² that UK schools emit each and every year.

It’s also a great chance for the whole community to get behind and support its local school and of
course the project offers an ideal opportunity to use the solar panels as an educational resource for
children. The team at Solar Schools are more than happy to get involved in school assemblies and to
provide the resources the school needs to integrate the project into the learning curriculum.

There has never been a better time to benefit from green, renewable energy so join the Solar
Schools project and let them help your school achieve a brighter, cleaner future.

Visit www.solarschools.org.uk