Solar panel system installed at Neston Sports Centre

The installation of the solar panel system at Neston Sports Centre comes after one was also installed at Christleton Sports Centre earlier in February.

Ellesmere Port and Neston MP, Justin Madders, was among those marking the occasion at Neston Sports Centre, where he praised the new solar panel system but also called on the government to ‘put their money where their mouth is’ regarding funding similar projects.

“What you are doing (in Neston) is going to make a big difference to the carbon footprint of the facility.

“But it’s something that we are not going to be able to do that much more of in the future and when you look at what’s available across the whole of the public sector, never mind the private sector.

“There are loads of opportunities for much more sustainable ways of keeping these facilities going.

“It’s a real disappointment that we have seen over recent years, the support for Feed-in tariffs go particularly at a time when the rhetoric from the government has been much more about the climate emergency.

“I think really it’s time for them to put their money where their mouth is and that means actually sustainable long term investment across the board in terms of renewable energies.

“And we have got to look at every aspect of life to do that because if we don’t it will soon become far too late and we will very much regret our course of action.”

Louise Gittins, leader of the Cheshire West and Chester Council, added: “Back in May we declared a climate emergency, and for the last nine months we have been looking at what we need to do to reduce our carbon footprint.

“As a borough we are actually the fourth most polluting in the country, so we face significant challenges there, and we have set ourselves some quite ambitious targets.

“By 2030 as a council we want to be carbon neutral, and then by 2045 as a borough. So, we have actually come down slightly from the government’s target of 2050.

“Any contribution is really going to make a difference and the work you are doing here around the community energy is going to have a significant impact across the borough.

“We can look at how we work with other community organisations to help them reduce their carbon footprint. It’s about everybody playing their part to work together and get to carbon zero by 2045.”

The two solar panels were both commissioned by Chester Community Energy Ltd (CCEL), and were the result of partnerships between Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC), Brio Leisure, and the local electrical contractor, Genfit.

Stephen Savory, who project managed the schemes for CCEL said: “The successful installation of the schemes was the culmination of 12 months of preparation, planning and fund raising work carried out mainly by volunteers at minimal cost.

“I would like to thank all of our partners who have been brilliant from the start, with a special mention for Genfit Ltd who have installed both projects within 9 working days and our elected representatives who attended today and continue to support our work”.

Both projects have installed capacity of 59.9 kilowatts peak (kWp) and are predicted to generate 48,000 kilowatt hours of electricity in the first year.

The saving in CO2 over a 20-year period is estimated to be 569 tonnes. All the electricity can be used by the sports centres, who purchase the electricity from CCEL under a power purchase agreement.

This results in savings for the centre, and income for CCEL, which together with the feed in tariff subsidy from the Government allow CCEL to pay back investors and set aside any surpluses for community benefit.

However, the subsidy was phased out last year leaving CCEL to consider their options for future projects.

CCEL has awarded grants totalling £6,000 in the last two years to community based organisations to reduce their energy use and costs.

It is also in the process of introducing a scheme to replace old lighting in public buildings with LED lighting which saves at least 50 per cent on power.