British Gas is to invest £15m in solar technology for British schools.
The company will donate and install solar panels, worth between £20,000 and £40,000 per school, in up to 750 schools. Each school will be able to generate its own free, green electricity, cutting as much as 20% off its annual electricity bill.
The energy produced by the panels is anticipated to create around £1.3m per year for the next 25 years. This will be reinvested in installing solar panels on yet more schools.
This means that, in the next five years, British Gas could install free solar panels on a total of 1,100 schools.
The panels will also help the selected schools to meet their carbon reduction targets, reducing emissions by up to 1,400 tonnes per year, equivalent to taking almost 400 cars off the road.
The schools receiving solar panels will receive a British Gas smart meter, offering real time information so pupils can see the difference their solar panels are making. Specially created Generation Green lesson plans will help teachers engage their pupils in learning about renewable energy, and schools will be able to track their performance against others and share tips and advice via a specially designed website.
British Gas has already earmarked half of the total investment to ensure that schools in low income areas benefit from the initiative, and intends to deliver the technology to these schools in conjunction with the Government's Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP).
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