Solar power to solve deficits of Britain's Churches
Thursday, 15 July 2010
LONDON, July 14 (Commodity Online): Britain's churches and other religious buildings could raise £34 million a year for their coffers by installing solar panels, according to new figures from the British Gas Green Streets programme, which are unveiled Wednesday.
British Gas' research shows that solar panels on Britain's religious buildings could generate over £29 million a year through Feed-In Tariffs, a scheme which pays households and organisations for generating "green" electricity.
They could also make further savings of nearly £5 million a year by not having to buy electricity, as their energy needs would be met through the solar panels.
This money-making potential will be a welcome revelation to churches and other religious buildings that have been hit hard by the recession over the last few years. A recent report found that a quarter of all 44 Church of England dioceses are running deficits.
As well as improving their finances, Britain's religious buildings could also do their bit to help protect the environment, as the CO2 savings could also be significant - up to 42,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year, which is equivalent to the carbon emitted by over 600 transatlantic flights.
Phil Bentley, Managing Director of British Gas, said:
"These potential savings are great news for the UK's religious buildings and their congregations, and give them the opportunity to lead their communities in tackling climate change and helping Britain move towards a low carbon society. Religious buildings are particularly well suited to solar power as they tend to have large south-facing rooves which receive direct sunlight for the main part of the day.
Father Paul Richards, of St Silas Church in Pentonville, London, said: "The Church of England is committed to saving energy and becoming greener throughout the UK and the potential for solar panels on our churches is an exciting prospect. Even though not all UK churches could adopt this model due to planning and architectural conservation laws, there may be thousands of Church of England buildings out there that could help create a greener future by generating clean energy as well as some much needed income".
British Gas' research shows that solar panels on Britain's religious buildings could generate over £29 million a year through Feed-In Tariffs, a scheme which pays households and organisations for generating "green" electricity.
They could also make further savings of nearly £5 million a year by not having to buy electricity, as their energy needs would be met through the solar panels.
This money-making potential will be a welcome revelation to churches and other religious buildings that have been hit hard by the recession over the last few years. A recent report found that a quarter of all 44 Church of England dioceses are running deficits.
As well as improving their finances, Britain's religious buildings could also do their bit to help protect the environment, as the CO2 savings could also be significant - up to 42,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year, which is equivalent to the carbon emitted by over 600 transatlantic flights.
Phil Bentley, Managing Director of British Gas, said:
"These potential savings are great news for the UK's religious buildings and their congregations, and give them the opportunity to lead their communities in tackling climate change and helping Britain move towards a low carbon society. Religious buildings are particularly well suited to solar power as they tend to have large south-facing rooves which receive direct sunlight for the main part of the day.
Father Paul Richards, of St Silas Church in Pentonville, London, said: "The Church of England is committed to saving energy and becoming greener throughout the UK and the potential for solar panels on our churches is an exciting prospect. Even though not all UK churches could adopt this model due to planning and architectural conservation laws, there may be thousands of Church of England buildings out there that could help create a greener future by generating clean energy as well as some much needed income".