"Whilst standing in line to collect my daughter from West Leigh, I glanced up at two workmen with blow-torches and noticed just how big the flat roof is. I immediately thought it would make an ideal location for solar panels and wondered why it hadn't been done already. As it happens the school had already considered this and carried out a survey. 

But schools are incredibly busy looking after the kids, with huge pressure on budgets and time. So to cut a long story short, I volunteered to help and joined forces with the Backwell & Cleeve Community Energy Group to carry out a feasibility study, get approval and raise the funds needed for the installation.

The PTA works incredibly hard to organise cakes sales, community fairs, quiz nights and all manner of other events, raising about £15,000 every year to buy the school some of the extras that the government's budget doesn't cover. The solar panels could save the school nearly the same amount every year for over 25 years, benefiting thousands of local children for a one-off effort to raise £33k.  

Schools are the perfect location for community solar projects as their energy usage profile almost exactly matches that of the sun's availability, meaning a very high efficiency rating. The kids arrive as the sun rises in the sky, the high power use of the kitchens roughly matches the time the sun is at its peak, and then the school closes as the sun sets. Plus, during weekends and holidays 100% of the energy generated can be sold back to the grid for profit.