The 800-year-old cathedral in the British city of York – York Minster – has been enriched by a solar power system. The 184 solar modules were installed on the south choir roof and commissioned on January 9 as part of a blessing ceremony by the Dean of York. The system was installed by the installation company Associated Clean Technologies (ACT) from Leeds in collaboration with Dresden-based Solarwatt GmbH, which also supplied the modules. According to a statement from York Minster, the yield will be around 70 megawatt hours per year, enough to cover a third of the cathedral’s electricity requirements. The total of four solar panels on the cathedral grounds will provide 120 megawatt hours per year. The solar installation is part of a wider plan by York Minster Chapter to convert the cathedral to renewable energy. “If we can do it, anyone can, because our climate is changing. We are experiencing this first hand as we look after this precious building,” says Alex McCallion, Head of Building at York Minster. The use of solar energy in the cathedral shows “how historic buildings can use renewable energy solutions without compromising their heritage”. The extreme weather conditions caused by climate change also pose a major threat to York Minster. Persistent heavy rainfall has accelerated the deterioration of the stone and caused movement in the listed building, raising concerns about its preservation.
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