Telscombe Town Council

SOLAR PANELS AT CIVIC CENTRE

Solar electric panels have now been installed on the roof of the Civic Centre. These photovoltaic panels have been installed by a Lewes based company, Southern Solar, and  are designed to generate electricity from sunlight, thereby giving many years of free solar electricity.

Solar energy works as a supplement to mains electricity, to power normal electrical appliances, and provides an environmentally friendly way to reduce energy costs. The panels are maintenance-free, and the system interacts safely  with the national grid by means of a fully automatic inverter. This allows the Council to take advantage of central government’s Clean Energy Cash Back, or FIT scheme, which will pay the Council for the surplus electricity generated by these panels. A monitoring display has been installed in the foyer of the Civic Centre allowing Councillors, staff and members of the public to view current readings for the power generated in kW, Co2 saved in Kg, and the total energy generated in kWh. Along with the installation of new boilers as reported in the Summer edition of the Town Crier, the new solar panels will enable the Council to reduce our impact on the environment at the same time reducing energy costs.

These financial and environmental benefits form part of Telscombe Town Council’s  Cost Reduction Programme designed to ensure that the Council pursues a cost effective, environmentally friendly strategy for the running of Telscombe Civic Centre. Based on existing projections, it is estimated that the financial saving over the twenty year life of the system will be in the region of £60,000, with an environmental saving of 112 tonnes of Co2.   The Council anticipate that their forward thinking strategic plan will reap rewards for many years to come.