Tollbrae Primary School in Airdrie, Scotland, has received a free solar array after winning an environmental competition run by Renewable Resources.
Late last year the renewable energy company offered every primary school in Lanarkshire the opportunity to win a 16-module solar array. Children could apply individually or in groups to win the prize. In order to enter the competition, entrants were asked to write a story, draw a picture or submit a group exercise about why their school should win the prize.
Despite a number of strong entries, Tollbrae Primary School clinched the prize with a reworking of Jessie J’s ‘Price Tag’. The students altered the lyrics of the song to promote the use of renewable energy in fighting climate change. The lyrics start with: “It seems the planet’s going to pay the price; I wonder how we sleep at night?”
The song’s chorus is then changed to: “It’s all about the leckie, leckie, leckie. We just want to make energy, to be used by you and me.”
John Devlin, Managing Director of Renewable Resources, said: “We had many entries but we felt this effort by Tollbrae just pipped the others and its sentiment about the importance of renewable energy and the dangers faced by our planet were especially pertinent.
“We are doing this because we want to educate young people about alternative fuel and greener sources of energy which helps the environment. Renewable energy is the way of the future. Not only is it much cheaper than traditional sources of fuel, but it¹s a much cleaner way of providing power and much better for the planet. And our young people need to take the lead so to discover such an awareness about this from schools throughout Lanarkshire is very encouraging.”
The donated system will allow the school to claim the feed-in tariff payments associated with the system – providing a substantial revenue for the school while also reducing its operating costs.
Below is a video of Tollbrae Primary School's winning entry:
