Member Article

£135k green energy investment for Rotherham college by Coalfields Regeneration Trust

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust has invested £135k in sustainable energy, setting up two wind turbines at Rotherham’s Dearne Valley College.

The college will be able to power a full building once the turbines are up and running. They will reportedly generate 20kWp of energy from natural resources every year, the equivalent to five times that required for an average family home.

The project will create a sustainable energy source that will save the college much needed funds that would otherwise have been spent on utility bills.

Speaking about the installation, principal and chief executive at Dearne Valley College, Martin Harrison said: “We are committed as a College to improving our sustainability and cutting our carbon footprint.

“As well as the implementation of the ‘cycle to work’ scheme, and the investment of solar panels at Dearne Valley College, we have welcomed the opportunity to further reduce our reliance on the main grid by generating more electricity from the wind turbines, thanks to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust.

“This in turn will also reduce the costs of energy for us, which will allow us to invest further into our students and the College as a whole.”

“We are the first college in the area to install wind turbines of this size and hope that this new addition will teach our students about the importance of environmental sustainability within the Dearne Valley. “

Property Investment and development director, Shaun O’Brien said: “The installation of the wind turbines at Dearne Valley College marks a real shift in the way that community organisations consider their energy supply.

“Not only is the College setting an example for others but also the next generation who can see the real benefits of sustainable energy supply in real time.”

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust Community Sustainable Energy Programme has generated 1MW of electricity, 250 times what would be required to power a residential house for a year, as a result of solar panel installations on community buildings throughout the country.

Launched just eighteen months ago, the programme was designed to provide solar power energy for community organisations and charities working within the coalfields communities throughout England.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .