Kirk Sandall Junior School installs solar panels with funding from the Drax Foundation

• Drax Foundation funding has saved three schools an estimated 14.5 tonnes of combined carbon emissions this year, the equivalent of 24 transatlantic flights between London and New York.

The Drax Foundation, the charitable entity of renewable energy company Drax Group (Drax), has funded the installation of solar panels at Kirk Sandall Junior School as part of a campaign to support UK schools and community-led organisations to become more energy efficient.

Funding for the panels has been provided from a £4.5m pot set aside by the Drax Foundation, which recently saw grants and solar panel installations at Abington Vale Primary School in Northampton and Barwic Parade Community Primary School in Selby.

The solar panels, fitted by the specialist solar installation company Low Carbon Energy, will save the school, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, an estimated £4,100 per year in energy costs and reduce its carbon emissions by an estimated 5.2 tonnes per year.

Jane Breach, Drax’s UK Community and Education Manager said: “We are proud to provide the funding for the installation of solar panels at Kirk Sandall Junior School, further underlining the Drax Foundation’s commitment to giving back to the communities where we operate.

“It is important that schools and community organisations are given the tools to become more energy efficient so they can help to play their part in the fight against climate change. “In 2024, Drax Foundation has funded three projects for the installation of solar panels at schools in Northampton, Selby and now Kirk Sandall, saving an estimated 14.5 tonnes of carbon emissions, the same as 24 transatlantic flights from London to New York, and reducing estimated energy costs by over £11,000 a year.”

Helen Redford-Hernandez & Garath Rawson, Co-CEOs of the Brighter Futures Learning Partnership said: “Brighter Futures Learning Partnership Trust, with staff at Kirk Sandall Junior School, are delighted that the trust has benefitted from the funding secured by Drax Power Station to help the school become more energy efficient.

“Over the summer the school has worked with Drax to install a number of solar panels which will support the trust’s ambition of reducing energy consumption as well as improving efficiency by reducing the schools carbon footprint. The trust values its obligations to future generations and feels that the project will support its ongoing work of helping the school to become ‘greener’, supporting the transition to Net-Zero.

“The project will also ensure that the projected financial savings are used and reinvested in the education and enrichment of our children. We are proud and grateful to Drax Foundation for its investment in our school and for being so committed to helping schools in its communities.”