Solar panels for farm's 'energy house'

The project is going ahead after the South Yorkshire Energy Centre won a grant of more than 12,000 from the Sheffield South Community Assembly’s climate change fund to fund the scheme.

It is predicted that the two kilowatts photovoltaic, electricity-generating panels will provide around 1500 units per year, roughly equivalent to half the electricity consumption of a typical Sheffield home.

The panels will cover 14 square metres of the Energy House’s south-west facing roof and there will be monitoring equipment inside to show how much power is being produced. The energy produced by Heeley City Farm’s existing wind turbine also will be monitored.

Nick Parsons, from the South Yorkshire Energy Centre, said: “We are really pleased that we’ve finally been able to get the money to install these panels.

“They will help us to save nearly a tonne of carbon emissions per year and, from April, will generate income from electricity exported to the grid.”

The South Yorkshire Energy Centre is open to the public from Wednesday to Saturday between 11am and 3pm each day. Staff there give advice on renewable energy schemes and energy efficiency.