Sustainability Stories - Leeds AM

Installation of PV panels at Carlton Hill Meeting House

Recipient of QPSW Sustainability Grant 2011

Our project aims to make Carlton Hill Quaker Meeting House a greener, more environmentally sustainable building - and one which is visibly committed to green energy. In particular, we aim to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by generating our own electricity, thus relying less on electricity from the National Grid.

It does this by producing electricity, on site, via an installation of solar photo-voltaic panels on the roof of the building.

It furthers Quaker witness to sustainability by making visible our commitment to green energy - we have committed our money and our property and we have made that visible. The key way in which we have made it visible is that the solar panels can be seen from the road, a large road in the central Leeds, which carries a large volume of both foot and car traffic. We also have a portable display, which shows the amount of energy being produced by the solar panels. This is not able to be left in the Meeting House foyer, due to security concerns, but can be shown at appropriate times. The warden has produced a photo, printed on postcards and calendars, with the slogan, 'Quakers are going green!' Three photos are displayed, along with information about the power produced, on the notice board in the foyer.

By Jean Williams