Following in the footsteps of the Village Hall, Eynsham Sports Pavilion on Oxford Road has installed a solar PV (photovoltaic) system on its roof, donated by Solarcentury. The 16 solar panels form a 4kWp system that will meet a significant 40% of the building’s energy needs every year.
The Parish Council installed the solar system to help reduce its energy bills and lower its carbon footprint. The building will be powered by solar electricity during daylight hours, reducing reliance on using energy from the grid which will lower its energy bills. The money saved will be re-invested in the Pavilion for the benefit of the wide range of local groups who use the Pavilion every week, such as local footballs clubs, cookery and arts classes.
Gordon Beach, Chairman of Eynsham Parish Council, commented, “The system was installed quickly, in just a day. The solar panels will now sit quietly on the roof for the next 25 years generating clean solar electricity. People using the Pavilion during daylight hours will be using solar energy to power things like the lights and boiling water in the kettle. The display unit in the main room shows how much electricity is being generated by the system, which will help educate people about solar energy - it even generates electricity on cloudy days!”
Local environmental group GreenTEA supported the Pavilion’s ambitions to reduce its carbon emissions and encouraged the installation of the panels following experience at the Village Hall.
Jason Arnold, Installation Manager at Solarcentury commented, “With the system now installed and connected, the Pavilion can apply for the Feed-In-Tariff which means it will earn money for every unit of electricity generated and every unit of unused energy that it feeds into the grid. So as well as being a green energy commitment, the solar installation is going to have a positive financial impact for the Pavilion, which is used by many local people.”