We’ve been talking about it for years and now we are now generating our own electricity after having solar panels fitted with the help of a grant from the UK Government.
Our on-site function and conference centre has always seemed the perfect location for solar panels to be fitted but the cost to our small business has always been prohibitive. However, with the increase in demand due to the new addition of a campsite we were keen to reduce our carbon footprint by generating our own electricity. In a previous blog I have described how we reused much of the resources we found when clearing the site and more recently we have installed car-charging points to allow guests travelling in electric vehicles to charge them throughout their stay.
Solar panels seemed the logical next step. We were delighted to be successful in our bid for funding from the UK Government and the UK Community Renewal Fund to part-fund the project. ‘The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for 2021/22. This aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment. For more information, visit
UK Community Renewal Fund: prospectus – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
After a swift and pain-free installation by local company, Spartek, we were generating electricity within 4 days of the project commencing. We are not stopping here though. Currently we hope to produce between 50 and 75% of our electricity on a daily basis. In future we hope to increase the size of installation and install a battery to allow us to store energy produced during the day to use in the evening with an aim to produce 100% of the electricity we use.
