Schools across North Edinburgh and Leith are being urged by Mark Lazarowicz, MP to try and win solar panels in a competition run by British Gas.
There will be 750 winners across Britain, which – in addition to the panels (worth £20K–£40K each) – will receive smart meters to monitor their energy use. It's estimated that the prizes could save schools as much as 20 per cent on their annual fuel bills.
Judges in the British Gas Generation Green programme will assess each participating school's commitment to sustainability, engagement with and benefit to the community, and overall originality. They will also look for how well solar panels would be integrated into lessons about science and the environment, and how savings would be used to make further improvements.
'This is a really exciting opportunity for schools,' says Mr Lazarowicz. 'It's a great way to bring to life the science of tackling climate change at the same time as giving a very practical lesson in how to cut basic household bills.'
Since April, any surplus energy generated by small-scale applications such as schools can be sold back to the grid at a guaranteed price under the last Government's feed-in tariff scheme. Any such money will go to a not-for-profit trust fund for the benefit of schools next year.
The application form can be found at www.generationgreen.co.uk/solarpanels/. Entries must be in by 22 October 2010. Winners will be announced in November.