Wakefield schools to get solar panels to power classrooms

Up to 22 Wakefield schools will have solar panels fitted

Schools in Wakefield are to have solar panels installed to reduce their environmental impact.

Up to 22 schools will have panels fitted on their roofs or in their grounds to enable classrooms to be powered by renewable energy.

Wakefield Council said the £2m project could cut the city's greenhouse gas output by 456 tonnes a year.

The plans were approved by councillors at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

Jack Hemingway, cabinet member for environment and climate change, told the meeting the "really positive" scheme would also provide funding for climate education for children at the schools.

A shortlist has been drawn up after the city's schools were assessed for suitability for solar panels, which will feed renewable energy directly into the buildings, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Hemingway said panels would be fitted "only where schools want to take part".

The council has been working on the plans with Solar for Schools, a not-for-profit organisation which will retain the right to sell any surplus electricity to the National Grid.