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16
Oct 2024
Ripon Cathedral applies for solar panels on roof
Ripon Cathedral has submitted a planning application to North Yorkshire Council, seeking approval to install solar photovoltaic panels (PV) on two areas of its roof.
If permission is granted by the planning authority and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, the panels, which capture the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity, will be discreetly located on the library and south nave aisle roofs.
They will generate an estimated 19 percent of the cathedral’s annual electrical needs.
The proposal is part of Ripon Cathedral’s net zero renewables project. Caroe Architecture, in a design, access and energy statement in support of the application, said:
This proposed installation of PV panels to the roof of the cathedral is one of many initiatives at Ripon Cathedral committed to combating the climate crisis.
It is a considered a response to a range of carbon net-zero targets that have been either enshrined in legislation or set as institutional priorities by bodies associated with Ripon Cathedral.
The predictions reported in national news that the 1.5C global warming threshold is likely to be broken between now and 2027 put these initiatives into ever-more urgent perspective.
Caroe Architecture added:
The need for a clear, purposeful pathway to net zero at Ripon Cathedral, coupled with the urgency created by the climate crisis, means that this process is by nature iterative and non-linear.
It is therefore key to embrace every opportunity to decarbonise, offering incremental but considered change.
The proposed arrays are seen as a long term asset to both the cathedral and (in a material, if modest proportion) to the UK’s national grid decarbonisation journey.
These national targets are experienced directly in microcosm for the Chapter of Ripon, coupled with the moral, ethical and mission obligations that are intrinsic to the enduring purpose of Ripon Cathedral as a place of worship.
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