Sanyo Component Europe has completed the installation of projects utilising its HIT1 solar modules at Rosa Street Primary School and Hamsterley Primary School in County Durham. The two schools were awarded the systems by Sanyo for their work in the Future Planets project – a challenge where pupils are tasked with exploring the state of the planet in 25 years time if sustainable and non-sustainable choices are made.
The prize for winning the competition was a solar photovoltaics system comprising 14 Sanyo HIT HIP-215NKHE5 solar modules, which is expected to generate approximately 2,240kWh of energy a year. The installation of the systems is expected to cut energy bills and reduce the CO2 emissions of each school.
Colin Creggs, Headteacher at Rosa Street Primary School, said, “The children did brilliantly to win the Recharging the Earth project. The school is extremely pleased to have the solar panels fitted and producing electricity. It will help immensely to reduce the carbon footprint of our building.”
Lynn Cowans, Headteacher at Hamsterley Primary School, said, “As an eco school, our children are always looking for ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the school and their families. The Recharging the Earth project gave us the opportunity to showcase our eco school beliefs and the children and I are delighted to have had our prize of 14 solar panels commissioned. We look forward to using the savings on our electricity costs to further develop an eco school action plan. The solar panels will not only benefit the children currently at the school but the children in the future.”
The Future Planets project is part of the Recharging the Earth programme, an environmental education programme organised by County Durham’s Outdoor and Sustainability Education Service (OASES) and supported by SANYO and Project C, NETPark’s (the North East Technology Park) community outreach programme.
