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Green Roof For East Lothian School

Education officials are thinking green with plans to install a grass roof on top of a new primary school. The £7m building in Tranent, East Lothian, will also use solar power to generate electricity to heat water. The project has secured funding from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through a scheme to encourage environmental initiatives.

It is hoped that the experimental grass roof will provide insulation while also encouraging bird and insect life. (For a more in depth look at the benefits of green roofs, see the Summer 2005 issue of 'Building For A Future' magazine). The building will also have solar panels on its roof so that sunlight can be used to generate electricity and heat water.

The 450-pupil school will be linked to new housing in the area by foot and cycle paths so that parents can get pupils to classes without using cars. The building will have solar panels on its roof so that sunlight can be used to generate electricity and heat water.

A spokeswoman for East Lothian Council said construction work would begin this August. Tranent South School is due to be completed in time for the 2006 autumn term. The project is one of 14 solar photovoltaic (PV) energy projects across the UK which are sharing £1.35m in government funding.

UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said: "These projects will produce clean, renewable electricity. "Their locations, including churches, schools, housing projects and museums, will put the drive for secure energy that doesn't harm the environment right at the heart of local communities."

Green Building Press / BBC News  
 

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