Gloucester Cathedral 'oldest' to get solar panels

Up to 200 solar panels are set to be placed on Gloucester Cathedral's roof as part of a £6m renovation project.

The Project Pilgrim team says Gloucester Cathedral will become the oldest church building in England to have this technology installed.

Project Pilgrim manager Anne Cranston said: "It's more than a 100 panels but less than 200 depending on the size of the panels used."

The panels will be non-reflective, black and not visible from the ground.

It will cost about £100,000 to pay for the panels and most of this has been raised via a public appeal which has so far reached 90% of the goal.

Preparation work will need to be done ahead of the installation on the Nave of the Cathedral roof which is about 50 years old.

"We need to slightly change the shape of the ridge, repair some of the lead work, and we need to do some repairs of the guttering.

"Then we need to make sure that the frame [on the roof] can pin the panels down properly so they don't blow away in wind and then there's getting the cabling down into the main cathedral," added Ms Cranston.

Once the solar panels are installed, the project team has said they will reduce energy costs by 25% a year by producing between 28 and 30 MWh a year.

The Pilgrim Project is expected to take 10 years to complete.