Solar power boost for Hartley Wintney school
A Hartley Wintney school will turn on its newly installed solar panels this week. Greenfields Junior School, off Green Lane, is to unveil the flagship 4kW system on Friday. The installation is part of a pledge by green firm Paarl Energy, which has teamed up with grassroots campaigners the Hartley Wintney Solar Action Group. The company said that for every 25 systems installed through the group, they would install systems on a school in the area. To date 66 electricity generating photovoltaic panels have been installed since the group's launch in April 2011. A second system is earmarked for Hartley Wintney’s Oakwood Infant School in Church Lane. Headteacher Linda Platt said she was delighted with the new panels.“The children at Greenfields are always trying to think of ways to recycle, save energy and improve the school environment,” she said. “The installation of the PV panels is a huge leap in our quest to lower our carbon footprint and will enable the children to see first hand just how much energy is being generated.” Earlier this year the action group issued a call to arms urging the community to invest in renewable energy before the Government shake-up of feed-in-tarrifs, cash subsidies paid for energy generated from renewable sources. The scheme was launched by the Labour administration in April 2010, and since the New Year, the group has overseen the installation of a further nine systems, despite plans to curb tarrif cash from April 2012. The group, in a bid to meet its 2012 target of 100 panels, expanded its range to within 20 miles of the village. North East Hampshire MP James Arbuthnot praised the group’s decision to install the free panels on the school’s roof. He said: “The Hartley Wintney Solar Action Group is to be congratulated on the generous gift and installation of these solar panels. I know that these schemes take a great deal of persistence and determination to come to fruition, and everyone involved ought to be very proud indeed. I am delighted to have been invited to take part.”
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