PV solar panels to make Cotswold church carbon neutral

A Cotswold Norman church is installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels in a bid to be the first zero-carbon place for prayer in the UK, which may be encouraging to architects and builders looking to invest in sustainable construction products.

According to the BBC, a project costing approximately £40,000 will supply St Michaels and All Angels Church in Withington with solar PV equipment to generate renewable energy from the sun, selling any excess power back to the grid.

By the end of September, the church is expected to have 22 PV solar panels on its roof, with low-energy lighting and a biomass boiler adding to its sustainable construction credentials.

Matt Fulford, project leader and congregation member, told the news provider that it was ''inherently difficult'' to heat old church buildings, which, he said, ''anybody that's attended rather chilly church services will pay testament to''.

Last month, leading energy supplier British Gas said that places of worship, including mosques and synagogues, could generate as much as £29 million annually by installing solar PV systems.

Posted by Andrew Marshall