Forward Thinking County Bowling Club Kiss Goodbye to Energy Bills

Shrewsbury based Meole Brace bowling club recently unveiled what is believed to be the first Solar powered bowling venue in the county.

Thanks to a Sport England grant for £34,000 from Sport England, the Meole Brace club were able to completely replace and insulate the club house roof, the funding received also enabled the club to afford to install solar photovoltaic cells. The energy produced by the solar pv panels will provide healthy electricity savings but more importantly, because the system is attached to the government 'feed in tariff scheme' an indexed linked annual income of £3,000 pounds will be received for the next 25 years.

MBBC Honorary Treasurer Tony Crundell who was responsible for completing the grant application process said " The grant received from sport England means we have now secured complete control over our energy bills for the next 25 years and beyond, having the tired old roof not only replaced, but fully insulated means that not only is the club house building water tight and secure but the insulation will mean that we will reduce our heat loss to the building in the winter months and thus save on energy bills to heat it".

"Add in to the mix that we are now generating our own electricity and receiving an income and savings of circa £3,000 per year (which will rise with inflation as the feed in tariff increases each year) we are absolutely over the moon!

The club's committee invited a number of local solar companies to tender for the scheme and Shrewsbury based Salop Energy Commercial Ltd were the company selected to undertake the project.

"We wanted to 'keep it local' explained Tony Crundell so the committee members decided we would invite only Shropshire based companies to tender for the project.

"We were very impressed with Salop Energy Commercial's attention to detail and the time they took designing a completely bespoke solar PV system that suited the best needs of the club.

"They were very professional and delivered us a high quality end product which all members of the club are absolutely delighted with."

The cheque presentation at the club was recently attended by MP Daniel Kawczynski who congratulated the club on their successful application and encouraged other clubs in the region to apply for funding from Sport England.

Tony Crundell explained:

There is a mountain of money available from Sport England waiting for clubs such as Meole Brace Bowling Club who can demonstrate a credible plan that will benefit future generations.

Having gone through the grant process with Sport England I am willing to assist any sporting club who feels they could benefit from a similar grant on a No Win No Fee basis.

Any interested parties can contact Salop Energy Commercial on 01743 236266.