East Sussex College is going green! Ore Valley campus installs solar panels

East Sussex College is going green after solar panels were recently installed on the roof of the Ore Valley campus in Hastings.

Over 900 Solarworld PV panels have been fitted to the roof and will generate an estimated 237,500kwh of solar energy per year, helping to power 72 per cent of the college’s electricity needs.

The installation was carried out by Genfit and is a partnership project between Energise Sussex Coast, Brighton Energy Co-operative and East Sussex College, which is part of the 1066 Local Energy Campaign.

The estimations made by Brighton Energy Co-operative revealed that the college could save around £4,000 per year on electricity bills and reduce their Carbon Dioxide emissions by 105.69 tonnes each year, for up to 25 years.

Engineering and Construction students at the Ore Valley campus were also given the opportunity to get involved with the project.

Genfit supervised the students as they gained access to the PV installation. The students were able to see how the panels were installed and the types of equipment that the engineers were using. The students were also given an insight into the site monitoring system, via the Solaredge monitoring portal, while gaining an understanding of the benefits of renewable energy.

Phil Barnes, Head of Facilities at East Sussex College, said: “We’re really excited to be using a greener, renewable energy source to power our Ore Valley campus. The solar panels are a great way for us to show our commitment to reduce our emissions and look after our environment.”

Dave Houston, of Genfit the solar installers, said: “Genfit partner with community energy organisations to deliver renewable energy across the UK. Wherever we work we aim to engage with the local community in order to maximise awareness of renewables and their benefits.

“At the end of the process we will hand over a promotional video for the college and other stakeholders to use to increase awareness. Students will be invited to spend time with our CAA approved drone pilot whilst capturing the final completion shots as we see use of drones in wider construction and facilities management sectors as a key growth area.”

Kate Meakin, Energise Sussex Coast, said: “The college will become a beacon of how green energy can benefit our local area – saving the college money, educating the students, and increasing the amount of locally generated green energy. We encourage other community organisations to talk to us about how they could also benefit from becoming generators of solar energy.”