November Refurb and Retrofit Magazine

Renewables & Sustainability
Solar panels are crowning glory
The first of 150 solar panels has been installed at Gloucester Cathedral in the opening phase of a unique project.
Canon Celia
Thomson bolts in
the first solar panel
at Gloucester
Cathedral watched
on by MyPower
managing partner
Ben Harrison
The panels are being installed by
Gloucestershire-based renewable
energy company Mypower, with the
Reverend Canon Celia Thomson laying the
inaugural panel on the lead roof of the Nave.
It is the latest significant milestone for
Gloucestershire’s most popular tourist
destination, famed for hosting the coronation
of King Henry III, as the final resting place of
King Edward II and the location for three of
the Harry Potter films.
Once the work is completed, the 1,000-yearold
building will become the oldest cathedral
in the UK, and possibly the world, to have
installed a commercial-sized solar panel PV
system on its roof.
As the Nave roof is 30 metres above the
ground, all the solar panels will be virtually
invisible from the surrounding area.
The hi-tech equipment – a key part of the
£6m Project Pilgrim scheme supported by the
Heritage Lottery Fund – is expected to reduce
the Cathedral’s energy costs by 25 per cent.
“It’s been fantastic to be involved in an
important project like this that you can really
put your heart and soul into and do the best
possible job for the client – we’ve gained a
huge amount of satisfaction from that,” said
Mypower’s managing partner Ben Harrison.
“The historic nature of the building means we
have encountered various issues to resolve
but nothing that the team can’t handle.
“All roofs will sag a bit over time but
particularly when there’s lead, which expands
and contracts with changes in temperature
and alters how it sits on the building, so that
was one issue to which we had to attend.
“With a modern build, you can work to a
drawing and know exactly how it’s going to
be, but with a 1,000-year-old building like the
Cathedral you find twists and turns on the
roof and undulations where it’s sagged over
the years.
“At times it’s been extremely tight in terms of
manoeuverability around parts of the site,
particularly when the work required us to
work just inches away from centuries-old
gargoyles, but we put strategies and
measures in place to protect the building
from any damage.
“We’ve been working hard as a team,
alongside the Cathedral team, including their
architect and structural engineers, ensuring
that everything is completed to the highest
quality and that the work is checked and rechecked.
“Working on Gloucester Cathedral has been a
great challenge and one that we’re
thoroughly enjoying.”
The Reverend Canon Celia Thomson added,
“The installation of solar panels on this
remarkable building is a historic moment. We
are thrilled that our vision to become a
greener Cathedral is being fulfilled and proud
to make a valuable contribution to the
Church of England’s Shrinking the
Footprint campaign.”
12 Refurb retrofit
magazine
Nov 2016 R2