Burnham-On-Sea’s Princess Theatre will soon be partially powered by solar energy as part of a £30,000 project to reduce the building’s electricity costs.
The Princess Theatre and Arts Centre has put forward proposals to the Town Council for a number of solar panels to be installed on the building’s south-facing roof.
The scheme unanimously approved by councillors when it was considered during a Town Council meeting on Monday (August 1st).
The Princess Management Committee’s Chairman, Cllr Peter Burridge-Clayton, (pictured below) told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The solar panels will cost in the region of £28,000 to £30,000 to install.”
“But our research shows they will save The Princess £1,000 per year in electricity charges and will bring in additional annual income of around £3,500 when we feed unused electricity into the National Grid.”
He added: “The south facing roof of The Princess is ideal as it naturally gets plenty of sunlight and is also out of sight.”
Cllr Phil Harvey has spent several weeks researching the scheme to get the best value for money and biggest return.
It has been proposed that the project be funded with £10,000 from the Town Council’s general reserves and £20,000 from contingency funds.
Burnham-On-Sea.com first reported earlier this year on the transferal of ownership of The Princess from Sedgemoor District Council to Burnham and Highbridge Town Council. The District Council sold The Princess for the nominal sum of £1.
