September 4, 2013 1.47 pm This story is over 126 months old

Lincoln museum upgraded with solar panels

Green heritage: The Museum of Lincolnshire Life in Lincoln has had 117 solar panels installed on its roof to reduce energy bills.
The Museum of Lincolnshire Life on Burton Road. Photo: Richard Croft

A Lincoln heritage museum took a step into the future by using solar panels for the first time.

The Museum of Lincolnshire Life on Burton Road has had 117 solar panels installed on its roof by Stow-based renewables company Freewatt.

The electricity generated will power the whole building, saving the museum around £129,000 and 300 tonnes of CO2 during the system’s 20-year lifetime.

The panels will also generate revenue as spare power is sold to the grid, plus extra Government grants such as Feed in Tariffs.

The panels were placed on the Grade II Victorian barracks, built for the Royal North Lincoln Militia in 1857, in under a week.

The museum installed the panels as part of the Lincolnshire County Council’s Carbon Management Plan, which aims to reduce emissions by 22% by 2018.

Freewatt CEO Julian Patrick said: “It is a real pleasure to be working on projects like the Museum of Lincolnshire Life. Not only are we making the museum greener but helping to make it more financially sustainable by generating its own income.”

“With public services under so much financial pressure it’s important to realise that solar power can make a significant difference to the bottom line of many of these operations.

“It’s also rewarding to be fitting the latest in clean power generating technology just yards from Ellis Mill which was achieving exactly the same thing more than 300 years earlier.”

Nicola Rogers, County Council District Manager, said: “We’re delighted that the museum will be greener from now on – and also benefit from lower energy bills.

“But this is just one of the improvements we’ve been able to make thanks to funding from Arts Council England. This is an ideal time for people to make their first visit or rediscover all the museum has to offer.”