A Macclesfield school has put a six-figure sum in a new green energy project.

The King's School has invested £200,000 to install solar panels on the roof of its new Sports Centre. Positive early data shows the stunning 800 square metre array will pay for itself within just four years. 

The Sports Centre houses a 25 metre, six lane swimming pool, a large sports hall, an indoor cricket centre, a dance studio, a classroom and cafe. Energy costs have been high with demand for the facilities by community users and local sports clubs ensuring the Sports Centre is busy from 7 am to 10 pm and used every weekend.

The new installation is in addition to existing solar panels on the main School building for the 1330 pupils at the £60 million campus on Alderley Road.

The Prestbury place of education is located at Alderley Rd, Prestbury, Macclesfield SK10 4SP. (Image - Macclesfield Nub News)

The additional panels will also power the aeration systems in the on-site ponds to boost wildlife and biodiversity to enhance King's outdoor learning programmes.

It is the latest initiative aimed at making King's a net zero energy user, with the school already completing a comprehensive redesign of its waste disposal methods to eliminate any landfill. The new solar panels will also help assess the feasibility for installing a much bigger system on the Main Academic Building.

The system was completed by renewable energy experts Solarsense, who have donated a further 12 panels for project work in the school's Physics Department. Pupils will learn the science behind the energy conversion systems and be fully involved in recording and analysing energy efficiency data.

King's School Director of Finance Jonathan Spencer Pickup said: "King's wants to reduce its energy usage for the benefit of current and future pupils and provide real life learning opportunities in this new technology that is the future for energy generation in this country.

"Conservation is also a major issue for all our young people and we are determined to show that their community is doing its level best to meet their concerns.

"It will also enable us to continue to operate the Sports Centre as a community-based facility without the worry of potentially escalating energy costs." 

Since opening its new campus in 2020, the King's School has planted over 1,000 trees, establish two orchards, an apiary and multiple wetland areas on the campus.

The new panels means that King's joins thousands of schools across the UK already generating their own renewable electricity with solar power.

In May, the UK government said: "Schools, warehouses and car parks could be at the forefront of a revolution in affordable solar power." Citing public and commercial buildings untapped potential in harnessing green energy.

See Also: Meet the Personal Trainers Behind Macclesfield Leisure Centre's Gym

Advertise your Macclesfield event for FREE on our What's On page.

Macclesfield: Have you signed up for our Friday weekly newsletter? It contains each week's top 10 Macclesfield news stories, and one FREE exclusive article?

Simply enter your email address or on this link.

Free from pop-up ads, or unwanted surveys, Macclesfield Nub News is a quality online newspaper which produces 20-30 stories a week for our town.

You can find us on Facebook and Twitter.