4:24pm Sunday 7th September 2008
By Jamie Henderson
St Alban’s Church in Furzedown has installed solar panels after securing a grant from EDF Energy.
Eighteen solar panels have just been fixed to the roof to meet part of the church’s electricity needs and reduce emissions by more than half a tonne of carbon dioxide each year.
St Alban’s Church, in Pretoria Road, is only the second church to install solar panels in the Southwark Diocese, an area which has hundreds of churches, stretching from the Thames to rural Surrey.
The cost of the £11,000 project was met by £6,000 from EDF Energy’s Green Fund with additional funding from the Low Carbon Building Programme and the church itself.
Chris Mason, secretary of the parochial church council, who led the solar project, said: “Whatever the causes of climate change it makes sense to use resources with care and not squander them, and also to take advantage of technology that demonstrates best practice. In the church we believe we are stewards of the world and it was created not just for us, but for future generations.
“It’s important for churches to help set a good example. We could not have undertaken this project without the grants and support we received from EDF Energy and the investment scheme.
“We hope other churches can learn from our example and that we will save money on our energy costs, which means we will have more money to spend on other community projects.”
The original Victorian St Alban’s Church was damaged by fire after World War Two and by subsidence in the 1980s, prompting a modern church to be built nearby.
An environmental programme was set up at St Alban’s two years ago, including a full energy audit, which led to a reduction in the use of lighting and water heating.
Future projects are planned to look at intelligent heating controls and improved insulation. The church wants to provide an example to the many groups who use the building for keep fit, drama, meetings, parties and groups for mothers and babies, toddlers, senior citizens and young people.
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