From left: Teacher Rachel Allen, Harvey Barratt, Llyr Gruffydd MS, Matthew Humphreys and school librarian Annette Gardner.A secondary school is leading the way in the drive to reduce carbon emissions impacting on climate change.
That's the view of Plaid Cymru's North Wales MS Llyr Gruffydd after visiting Ysgol Dinas Brân, at Llangollen, to see for himself the green energy project.
He said: "There's a lot of talk about tackling the climate emergency but this is a fantastic example of a council and a school taking the initiative to make things happens on a grassroots level.
"There's nothing to stop this being rolled out to schools and other public buildings across the county and across Wales. It combines a lot of simple energy-saving schemes that have been made possible by an interest-free loan that the energy savings repay within eight years. It's so refreshing to see this taking place with support from both staff and pupils, who can see for themselves what will help reduce the school’s carbon footprint.
"I was very impressed during my visit to see pupils across a range of ages showing they have informed views on renewable energy and that more needs to be done to tackle what will be one of the key issues of their lives as they grow up.
As part of Denbighshire County Council’s Climate and Ecological Change Programme, the Greening Ysgol Dinas Bran project is looking to save both energy and money for the school.
The green project at Ysgol Dinas Bran and Llangollen Leisure Centre has seen a 150Kw array of solar panels installed on the school roof which will generate electricity for the school onsite using the suns energy.
Other elements of the work include heating control upgrades and LED lighting. The whole project is expected to reduce the school's carbon emissions by 73 tonnes per year.
Denbighshire County Council declared a Climate Change and Ecological Emergency in July 2019 and has since committed to becoming a Net Carbon Zero and Ecologically Positive Council by 2030.
This includes reducing the Council’s emissions from its buildings alongside fleet, waste generated in operations, business travel, staff commuting and street lighting. The new Solar Panels went live in August and heating control and LED lighting will all be complete by Christmas.
Cllr Brian Jones the Council’s Lead Member for Waste, Transport and the Environment, said: “We are continuing to work on ensuring the Council is reducing its carbon footprint and increasing biodiversity in the county.
“This project is a big benefit for reducing carbon and cost whilst at the same time improving the learning environment at the school. We thank the school for working with the Council on this important project”.
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