School connects its solar panels
A BURGHFIELD Common school has taken steps to fight climate change by connecting its solar panels to a smart energy system.
The Willink School, with help from Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS), an energy software firm based in Glasgow, has connected its panels to a computer system that can monitor and manage energy production and use.
Pupils at The Willink are also being taught about climate change in class so that they can play their part in tackling the climate emergency, headmaster Peter Fry explained.
He said: “Connecting our solar panels to the energy management system is a great way to demonstrate to our pupils that their school wants to walk-the-walk as well as talk-the-talk.
“Having accurate information about the amount of power being produced by our solar panels and how energy is used at the school will help our colleagues in the council to come up with better zero carbon plans for our part of Berkshire.
“We all need to work together to fight climate change, and using the latest technology to monitor and manage energy use is a hugely-important step.”
The system at The Willink is part of SGS’s work with West Berkshire Council, with the firm having already connected the council’s head office and Northcroft Leisure Centre in Newbury to it as well.
It is hoped that in the future, systems such as these will allow the council to manage energy across a range of sites and help them organise when it charges its electric vehicles (EVs) or delivers key services.
Councillor Steve ArdaghWalter (Con, Thatcham Colthrop and Crookham), executive member for environment and waste at the council, said: “Being able to see how much energy is being generated by the solar panels across these four sites is extremely useful for planning our energy use.
“The analytics dashboard gives us an excellent idea of what power is available and how it’s being used.
“The next steps are even more exciting – potentially managing power generation and use across the sites and linking that to the bigger picture about how we charge the council’s EVs and deliver services at our facilities.
“Tackling the climate emergency is a priority for West Berkshire Council and working with SGS on the Live Lab is an important step towards that goal.”
SGS’s work with both West Berkshire Council and Reading Borough Council forms part of the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport’s SMART Places Live Lab programme, a two-year £22.9m project funded by the Department for Transport.