Tykes go green

31 March 2011 12:00
Barnsley is to become the first football club in the country to be powered by solar energy in order to slash current electricity bills by half. Two solar panels will be installed next month on the roofs of two of Oakwell's stands, plus the external wall of the south stand, generating enough power for about 140 homes. Barnsley general manager Don Rowing said: "With energy costs spiralling and likely to continue that way it makes business sense to use the large amount of roof surface available to us in order to save the club money and also to reduce our carbon footprint. "The icing on the cake is the work is being done by a Barnsley company and that will help the local economy. This just shows what a green place Barnsley is and even though we are the Reds we can go green." Electricity generated by the club will be used within the ground, with any excess being fed back into the National Grid. It is estimated the solar panels will cut Barnsley's annual electricity bills by about 50% - the equivalent to tens of thousands of pounds.

Source: PA