Bright and beautiful! - New solar panels for St Silas Church on Penton Street
Published: 14 May, 2010
by PETER GRUNER
PARISH Priest Father Shaun Richards climbed 60 feet to bless his new solar panel roof on Tuesday.
It was part of a topping out ceremony at St Silas church Pentonville on Penton Street, where 350 panels have been installed.
The ceremony, which was attended by newly re-elected Barnsbury ward Labour councillor James Murray, marks the end of a journey that started in the summer of 2008 when it was decided that a new roof was needed at St Silas after heavy rainfall broke through and damaged the inside of the church.
Solar tiles – enough for the needs of five homes – began producing power from the moment scaffolding was cleared away and will generate an estimated 47 per cent of the church’s power requirements.
The panels will also reduce carbon emissions by more than 7,000 kg a year and St Silas will even sell green energy back to the National Grid using the feed-in-tariffs scheme launched recently by the government.
The church raised ￡270,000 in donations towards the project, including the biggest from Islington Council’s climate change fund and the Low Carbon Buildings programme.
Father Richards was joined on the roof by those who have sponsored the scheme, including representatives from the council and the Head of Environment Challenge at the Diocese of London, along with representatives from panel manufacturers and the construction companies involved in the scheme.
The project is unique in the use of solar panels that were designed to be a similar colour and size as those on the slate roof it replaced, making it possible for the church to be more environmentally friendly without altering the appearance of the roof.