The Schools' Energy Co-operative have installed 48 solar panels on Ise Lodge Community Centre in Kettering. It is our first installation in Northamptonshire.
The installation is expected to save the community centre £2000 in it's first year.
This project was initially the idea of Cllr Lloyd Bunday, leader of Kettering Town Council and Executive Member for Finance and Transformation at North Northamptonshire Council.
Cllr Bunday explained: “As we all know the two things hitting the centre particularly hard have been inflation and energy prices. This building has only electricity as its main energy source, so the energy costs were crippling, and the centre was in real danger of closing.
“We put our heads together to protect this centre, which is at the heart of our community, and I am delighted with the outcome. There is more to do and we have other plans, so watch this space.”
Jessica Dunning, Community Solar Project Manager at Energy4All (who helps to develop Schools' Energy projects), explained: “As the movement towards an energy transition grows, we have been receiving an increasing number of enquiries from community buildings.
“Without energy co-ops such as The Schools’ Energy Co-operative, a lot of community buildings would be left behind, so we have been thrilled to provide solar to such an important community building. We believe everyone can play a part in creating change and we are here to support people and organisations such as Ise Lodge who may have struggled to do it all on their own.”
We are pleased to have brought The Schools' Energy Co-op to a new county - if you have another site in Northamptonshire that you think would be appropriate please do get in touch.