Ripon Grammar School recently submitted plans to North Yorkshire Council for the installation of 990 solar panels. Using the space available to them on both their flat and pitched roofs, the school hopes to remain at the forefront of energy literacy for its students, while aiming towards a ‘sustainable and green future’.
As noted on the planning application, it is hoped that these plans will complement the school’s aims of “creating responsible citizens for tomorrow’s world with an appreciation towards their surroundings and a duty of care for the environment. The panels enable the school to further improve its decarbonisation journey, teaching and learning how to live more sustainably”.
Student-led initiatives at Ripon Grammar School
Jonathan Webb, headteacher at Ripon Grammar School, told Yorkshire Bylines:
“We are delighted to announce that we have worked successfully with Solar for Schools to ensure 25% of our electricity needs will be delivered through green energy at a competitive price. This has been something students have raised with me on several occasions over the years.
“The initiative sits alongside our other energy and ecological initiatives, such as installing a new energy-efficient swimming pool boiler and cover, and replacing old-fashioned high wattage lights with energy saving LED lighting across the site.
“We have also committed to planting thousands of individual trees and saplings for hedging on our site, just part of our ongoing commitment to a better environment.
“As part of the school’s continuing commitment to cutting waste and saving energy, new low wattage computers have also been installed.
“New water bottle filling stations have been installed throughout the school, with the support of the student-led eco-committee, which is committed to increasing the amount the school recycles while aiming for ‘plastic free’ status in the near future.”
Rooftop revolution
These solar panel plans at Ripon Grammar School appear to be ahead of the government curve on solar installation. In the past few days, the new government has approved three new solar farms in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, which had previously been blocked. Additionally, the government is calling for a ‘rooftop revolution’ to ensure that millions more homes are fitted with solar panels in order to bring down energy bills and help tackle the climate crisis.
Ed Miliband, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, posted on social media this week that, “The Government will unleash a UK solar rooftop revolution. We want to bring this win-win technology to millions of addresses in the UK so people can provide their own electricity, cut their bills, and at the same time help fight climate change.”
At present, there are more than 1.4 million homes equipped with solar panels in the UK and this number is rising. With this new announcement from the government, it may be that new-build homes will have them as standard, with existing homes having them installed through an extended programme.
Over the past 15 years, the number of households with solar panels has increased dramatically – even in the gloomy, overcast UK. In 2010, there were just 28,211 solar households. By 2024, there were 1.4 million households – an incredible increase of 4,827%.
In 2022 the BBC reported that the percentage of electricity generated from low-carbon sources was 56.2%, including 41.5% from renewables and 14.7% from nuclear, compared to 40.8% from fossil fuels.
By 2023, the percentage of electricity from renewable sources was even higher, with the national grid reporting that fossil fuel sourcing had declined further.
Energy independence
If this planning permission is passed, it could give many other schools the ‘green light’ to adopt similar measures to produce their own electricity, sell back to the grid and begin to become energy independent.
North Yorkshire will make a decision on this at a later date, but the plans demonstrate that schools and businesses can think more creatively about their energy demands and not necessarily be limited by issues such as listed buildings. With no formal objections currently lodged against this application, it would appear that this initiative could be the start of schools around Yorkshire, and the UK, producing their own energy and helping the country towards decarbonisation.
Ripon Grammar School has demonstrated that a fusion of tradition, character and forward thinking can all complement one another in achieving a decarbonisation plan, as well as providing clear examples of energy education for the next generation.
