St. Joseph’s sees the light and embraces solar

St. Joseph’s in Cumbernauld has embraced solar technology to help save energy and generate additional funds. The church is the first in the Glasgow Archdiocese to benefit from renewable energy with solar panels installed on the roof of the church and presbytery.

Glasgow-based Absolute Solar and Wind was chosen to install the 60 solar modules on the church. The instllation was completed in just two weeks.

Ronnie Convery, Director of Communication for the Archdiocese, said: “Both the Archdiocese and the Parish could see the potential for long term savings by generating electricity through solar panels.  Churches are traditionally difficult and expensive to heat so we were particularly keen to investigate possible solutions.

“The electricity generated will not only supply the needs of the church buildings, but the extra energy is routed back into the national grid, ensuring a funding source for the parish for the next 25 years.

The installation is expected to generate 12,000kWh of green electricity every year. It is expected that the solar panels will stop 6.5 tonnes of CO₂ from being emitted annually.

Mark Newall, Managing Director of Absolute Solar, said: “The St Joseph’s project was a great one to work on and shows the forward-thinking nature of the Glasgow Archdiocese. Their commitment to renewable energy will not only bring benefits for the church and presbytery building but will provide much needed funds for the Archdiocese as a whole. Since installing the panels at St Joseph’s the UK Government has made changes to the feed-in tariff, yet despite the tariff reduction, solar energy is still a viable option. Solar panelling will continue to save customers on energy bills and offer a better return rate than most other investments.”

Father Harry Mckay, Parish Priest at St Jospeh's added: “We predict that we will make considerable savings and generate income for the next 25 years. While there is not much light around at this time, across the year we expect to generate more than enough electricity for our own needs and benefit from the surplus, which will be of great assistance to the parish.”

Convery concluded: “This is just the latest effort we have been making to ensure greater reliance on sustainable energy, with a view to controlling costs and protecting the environment.”