Solar power for Portlaoise church
Mass next weekend set to run on clean energy with completion of solar panels on St Peter & Paul’s Church
Works to install 84 solar panels on the south-facing roof of St Peter & Paul’s Church, Portlaoise are nearing completion.
Portlaoise Parish has been coordinating the project with a solar panel company for the past six months. The construction will be completed in the next few days with the panels set to be generating electricity by next weekend.
Monsignor John Byrne of Portlaoise Parish said there were both financial and environmental motivations for the project.
“We have been considering it for a while with the government incentives that are there at the moment and indeed our desire to reduce our carbon footprint,” he said.
The parish will be grant-aided for the works and projects to recoup its costs in energy savings after five to six years.
On the environmental point, Msgr Byrne highlighted that Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’ (“On care for our common home”) had a galvanising effect on churches. Published in 2015, Laudato si’ was Pope Francis’ second encyclical letter and advocated for the protection of our shared global environment, linking environmental decay to social injustice.
“In that context, I know a number of churches are considering [solar panels],” said Msgr Byrne.
Indeed, several churches in Ireland have made the transition to renewable energy, lining their south-facing roofs with solar panels, or opting for ground-mounted panels in the church’s surrounds.
The 84 panels on St Peter & Paul’s Church are estimated to generate 31,700 kilowatts of energy per annum. Production will vary based on sunshine, but, Msgr Byrne noted, “I’m told it doesn’t have to be high temperatures, that once the sun shines, it will have some effect.”
Portlaoise Parish had planned initially for 147 panels, but the ESB could not sanction the request due to the limitations of the local substation.