North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has secured £700,000 funding for 24 schools in the region to install solar panels, saving them more than £100,000 every year to spend in other ways.
The money to be invested in schools across Northumberland and Sunderland comes through GB Energy’s Mayoral Renewables Fund. The energy saved by the schools will amount to 85 tonnes of CO2 each year, the same as that used by 150 homes.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: “We will be investing £700,000 in new solar panels for 24 more schools spread across our region from Easington Lane in the south to Wooler and Kielder in the north.
“I want every child in the North East to have the best environment in which to learn, and solar panels help keep classrooms warm and bright while cutting energy costs. That means schools will have more to spend in other ways, like on breakfast and after school clubs to give kids a better start in life.
“Our investment also means the schools cut the CO2 they use by 85 tonnes, the same amount used as 150 homes. This is all part of my mission to make the North East the home of the green energy revolution.”
The money has been targeted at schools in areas with the greatest social need and those in rural areas, in order to enhance their energy resilience.
Each school benefitting from the scheme will be able to redistribute savings to spend on educational needs.
With many of the selected schools also serving local communities through activities such as breakfast and after school clubs, as well as hosting events, these activities can also benefit through the school’s reduced running costs.
The North East Combined Authority secured the money for schools from Great British Energy, which set up a fund to deliver on the government’s clean energy superpower mission to make working people and their communities better off.
