Coventry first cathedral to fit photovoltaic panels

27 June 2011,

The old and new cathedrals stand side by side

Coventry is to become the first cathedral in the country to fit solar panels to its roof.

According to EOS Energy, the firm behind the installation Coventry Cathedral will be the first in the country to have solar panels when its 50kW photovoltaic array is installed on its roof.
While at least one church in London has installed solar panels, the larger roofs of cathedrals have yet to be utilized in the same way.
The cathedral was built was built in 1956 and stands next to the roofless remains of the original building, which was nearly completely destroyed by Luftwaffe bombs in 1940.
A spokeswoman for EOS said: "Coventry will be the first cathedral in the UK to have photovoltaic panels installed on the actual roof.
"The cathedral PV array will consist of 178 panels and will be completed in time for the Queen's visit to Coventry in 2012."
It is also hoped the flagship project will form part of Coventry's Olympic celebration with football games taking part at city's football stadium - which will be known as the City of Coventry Stadium due to Olympic sponsorship rules.
Luke Walsh
Coventry first cathedral to fit photovoltaic panels