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"Mark Group were brilliant" − Birchwood High School

In 2009, Mark Group worked with Our Generation to install 204 solar panels on the sports hall roof of Birchwood High School in Hertfordshire. When it was first installed (in September 2009), the array generated around seven per cent of the school's requirement, cutting its reliance on the National Grid from 600,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity down to 565,000 kWh, but it has served as a wake up call.

In the space of just 12 months, staff and students alike have realised just how much energy they are using and wasting on a daily basis that they now draw 10 per cent of their daily electricity from the system − reducing their reliance on "brown energy" even further. The drain on financial resources is a constant headache for schools and this generally means that having a spare couple of hundred thousand pounds to spend on technology such as solar electricity system is just too far from reach.

So what should I do next to find out more? To follow in Birchwood's footsteps, you can talk to Our Generation about having a solar power system installed on your school, by Mark Group, completely free of charge. Free system, free maintenance and low priced, fixed rate electricity, for up to 25 years - the benefits really are just around the corner. www.ourgeneration.org.uk