Winterbourne Parish Council Report - Solar Power

When the County of Avon was divided into Bristol and South Gloucestershire, the former teachers’ centre in Winterbourne was sold off. The Parish Council bought it and turned it into The Greenfield Centre, the headquarters of the Parish Council.

As the building is a 1950s structure with a flat roof it is ideal for solar panels. Several years ago a large part of the roof was covered with the panels. This proved so successful in generating electricity that another large part has just been covered. The panels should pay for themselves in about 7 years and after this will provide an income for the council. A meter is visible which shows how much electricity is generated. This powers the council offices and any surplus is sold to the national grid.

On the same theme, the council recently had a planning application from a farmer wanting to put 500 solar panels in a field. The plan is that sheep will graze between the panels. The farm is in Frampton Cotterell, just outside Winterbourne.