A Grade II listed church in Bradford is now generating its own electricity thanks to sixteen solar panels on the church roof.
St Matthew’s Church, Bankfoot, Bradford installed the sixteen black solar panels with an innovative micro inverter monitoring system on their south facing stone roof. Leeds based specialists, the Phoenix Works, carried out the work, and church members hope that the installation will protect them against rising fuel costs.
The project was completed after six months of planning and project design, which including making sure that the installation was sympathetic to the historic building’s Grade II status.
Pictured is David Gibson, Church Treasurer for St Matthew’s, who said “We have many community activities happening at the Church on a weekly basis and being able to reduce our electricity consumption is fantastic.
“St Matthew’s Church recognises the social and economic impacts of using renewable sources of energy. The new solar panels will reduce the Carbon Footprint and electricity bills significantly, whilst in addition the Feed-in Tariff will provide a regular income.”
By applying for the Feed in Tariff payments, the Church will receive a fixed income for the next twenty years which can be used for keeping the church building in good repair while helping to preserve its historical features.
Account Manager at The Phoenix Works, Nicola Newby, said “This is the second church project I have worked on in West Yorkshire, the first being St John’s, Farsley in Leeds. The combination of environmental and financial savings will really benefit the Church, reducing both their Carbon Footprint and electricity bills significantly.