Cambridge's King's College chapel: Installation of solar panels begins

The Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry, Dean of the Chapel, said the work was a "serious project"

Work is under way to install 438 solar panels on the roof of Cambridge's iconic King's College Chapel.

It is hoped the panels will reduce the building's carbon emissions by more than 23 tonnes per year.

However, the scheme was criticised by some with Historic England saying it came at "some cost to the beauty of Cambridge's finest building".

The Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry, Dean of the Chapel, said the work was a "serious project" and not a "gesture".

He said: "We're doing this in such a way that the visual impact is minimised and yet it is real.

"I want people to read the solar panels as a statement of our stewardship of what we are doing."

The panels are expected to reduce the building's carbon emissions by more than 23 tonnes per year

Shane Alexander, college project manager, said installation of the solar panels was designed to dovetail with work to replace the Grade 1 listed chapel's lead roof.

The 15th century chapel's roof had "exceeded its natural lifespan" and was no longer watertight.

The roof restoration began in September 2022 and work on the solar scheme began in March.

Arrays of 219 panels will be fixed to each of the north and south slopes of the chapel roof and will generate an anticipated 123,000 kilowatt hours per year, the college said.

This will help the college in its ambition to decarbonise its operations by 2038 and reduce its carbon emissions by more than 23 tonnes each year, the equivalent of planting 1,090 trees, King's said.

It added that the new panels, combined with other existing ones including on an accommodation block, would reduce the annual electricity demand of the college's main site by around 5.5%.

Scaffolding has been erected while work to install the solar panels continues

The project has been exclusively funded by philanthropic donations made to the chapel and college.

Toby Lucas, senior site manager at Barnes Construction, which is re-roofing the chapel, said the work should be finished by the end of December.

Heritage body Historic England said it was "disappointed" that permission for the scheme had been granted.

King's College is one of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and was founded in 1441 by Henry VI