RESIDENTS in North Oxford are chipping in to a new investment scheme which aims to cover roofs at the Cherwell School in solar panels.

The Oxford North Community Renewables (Oncore) group aims to raise £145,000 to buy 250 photovoltaic panels which will be capable of generating enough power for the whole school.

A total of 2,000 shares are up for grabs – with investors guaranteed an annual return of 5.5 per cent, far higher than high street banks’ interest rates.

So far £65,000 has been committed and the share offer closes at the end of July.

Organisers hope to see the panels installed on the school by the start of the autumn term in September.

Oncore chairman Sam Clarke said: “We have had a lot of interest.

“The idea is not only to reduce carbon emissions but to generate more cash to carry out further schemes.”

The scheme could meet all the school’s electricity needs – the equivalent of powering nine homes – depending on the season. Investors can put in between £500 and £20,000. The panels will be bought outright and the scheme will benefit from the Government’s Energy Feed in Tariff, which pays the generator for any surplus electricity sold on to the National Grid.

Mr Clarke added: “This way the school will be paying less for their clean power than they are at the moment for their ‘dirty’ electricity.”

It has been estimated that carbon emissions by 22 tonnes a year at the 1,800 pupil school.

Assistant headteacher Julie Stuart-Thompson said the scheme would have educational benefits as well as helping cut emissions and lower electricity bills.

She added: “Students will be able to work on all sorts of data to do with which buildings are using more power and how to improve that.

“The great thing about this is that it is a real community enterprise involving local residents and parents.”

  • If you want to get involved or invest, email info@oncore.org.uk or call 01865 559631