Sunny outlook for solar power in schools
Residential energy efficiency provider Eaga plc has formed a partnership with regional development agency One North East, renewable energy centre of excellence NaREC, and the Centre for Design Research at Northumbria University to bring solar power to schools.
Under the pioneering scheme Newcastle-based Eaga will install solar thermal demonstration kits in every secondary school in the North-East.
Training and safety guidance will also be provided to the teachers operating the portable panels in the 250-plus schools.
Project coordinators NaREC will oversee the creation of additional curriculum support and teaching aids to deliver a complete hands-on approach to renewables for schools. The project will help to generate interest among students in engineering and science careers, and understand the relevance of carbon emissions and low carbon technologies in everyday life.
The Government has said it wants to cut C02 emissions in the UK by 60% by 2050. Encouraging greater use of renewable energy, such as solar thermal panels, is seen as a key way of hitting these carbon reduction targets.
John Clough MBE, Eaga plc Chief Executive, said: “We really can’t underestimate the threat to mankind from climate change, or the effort needed to combat it. By adopting clean energy wherever possible we can make a real contribution to the well-being of future generations.
“Renewable energy may still be in its infancy but it has huge potential. So raising awareness among our secondary school students and letting them see for themselves the potential for solar power as a reliable energy source seems an ideal step in the right direction.”
Mark Pearson, Energy and Process Innovation Manager at One NorthEast, said: “The North East has set its sights on developing a carbon neutral region and industry and government are investing to both create economic growth and reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact.
“We also identified the need to work with communities and businesses across the board on how to be more energy efficient and reduce their energy costs. If we are to involve future generations in these major changes then we must engage young people, to introduce them to new forms of energy and show them how to conserve energy and protect their environment, and this partnership between Eaga, NaREC and One NorthEast is a great way of doing that.”
Keith Melton, Director of Technology and Innovation at NaREC said
“By delivering an exciting, state of the art, hands on engineering demonstrator to schools, we can encourage more students to consider science and engineering as a career, plugging one of the skills gaps in the region”
Fitted correctly, solar thermal panels can convert enough heat from the sun to provide up to 60% of a typical household’s hot water needs. A four-square meter panel can cut C02 emissions by one tonne annually.
Steven Caseley, Managing Director of Eaga’s renewable energy division, said: “Other countries in Europe have clearly embraced renewable energy. In Spain, for example, building regulations state that between 30% and 70% of domestic hot water need to be provided by solar thermal energy. We see this initiative in the North-East as an ideal opportunity to demonstrate in a fun and hands-on way how renewables can offer an economical and efficient alternative energy source.”
The North-East has been short-listed to host the Energy Technologies Institute, which will spearhead national research and development into cutting greenhouse emissions and tackling climate change. The bid has been tabled by a consortium of Newcastle, Northumbria and Durham Universities, NaREC and the CPI in the Tees Valley, with strong support from One NorthEast and the regional Science and Industry Council.
Notes to Editors
Eaga is the UK’s largest residential energy efficiency provider. The company is a leader in the provision of innovative and sustainable services, products and solutions that address the environmental, social and energy efficiency objectives of Government and the private sector both nationally and internationally.
Working in partnership with central and local government Eaga is positioned at the heart of policy-making and front-end delivery of social and environmental improvement programmes. Eaga operates across the UK and in the Republic of Ireland, India and Canada employing over 3500 people.
Eaga was established in Newcastle in 1990 to lead government funded efforts to improve the living conditions of vulnerable people living in cold, damp and energy inefficient homes across England. Since its inception, Eaga has made a positive difference to over 5 million disadvantaged households across the UK, by installing energy efficiency measures and central heating.
Eaga holds the contract to deliver the £1.5 billion Warm Front programme in England, the cornerstone of government's target to eliminate fuel poverty by installing energy efficiency measures in vulnerable homes by 2010. Eaga also works with devolved nation governments to deliver similar schemes across the UK.
As a co-owned business, Eaga is one of only a handful of UK organisations where every employee with over a year’s service is entitled to a share in the success of the business. Eaga’s commitment to co-ownership is an integral part of the values that define the ethos of the business and what it means to be an Eaga employee.
Since 2000, Eaga has invested over £3 million in the independent Eaga Partnership Charitable Trust which funds research into solutions to fuel poverty.
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