£400,000 raised for solar power on Brighton & Hove schools

Brighton and Hove Energy Services Co-operative (BHESCo) have raised more than £400,000 from over 100 investors for new solar power projects on schools in Brighton and Hove.

Since the start of 2024, they have installed 490 solar panels across four school sites in the city, including Middle Street Primary School, Goldstone Primary School, Peter Gladwin Primary School, and Mile Oak Primary School.

Sam Harris from ‘Our City, Our World’, Brighton and Hove City Council’s Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Education Programme, said:

“We are tremendously excited about the prospect of installing solar panels on our roof. Not only will it be great to know we are using sustainably created electricity but this will also be a powerful symbol to our children as we look to educate them about climate change and what we can do about it”.

In addition to reducing the environmental impact of their buildings, being able to generate on-site renewable electricity will save the schools thousands of pounds on energy costs over the twenty-five year lifetime of the solar panels.

Jayne Paynter, School Business Manager of Goldstone Primary School, said:

''With school budgets under more strain than ever, it's reassuring to know that in addition to the solar panels reducing our carbon footprint, something our children care deeply about, they will make us a considerable saving in energy costs.''

BHESCo’s Founder and CEO, Kayla Ente MBE, said:

“Our Solar Bond Offer is a great opportunity for anyone who cares about the climate crisis to make a real difference. By becoming an investor, you can get a great return and help our schools install their own renewable energy systems”.

BHESCo’s Solar Bond Offer is still open to new investors and closes on 15th April 2024.

Further details can be found at https://www.ethex.org.uk/invest/bhescobond2023