A school in Co Clare has become the first in the country to produce all its electricity using solar power.
CBS Primary in Ennis has managed to cut its energy bill by €10,000 since installing 90 solar panels on the roof of the school.
Switching to clean, green energy has been a win-win for the environment and CBS Primary School.
Last year 39 megawatts of electricity was generated but only 32 was used, meaning the excess energy was sold back to the national grid, earning revenue for the school and powering homes and businesses around Ennis.
The entire project cost €67,000, which was raised by the school community over the last number of years
CBS Ennis principal Dara Glynn said that when the school community moved into their new premises in 2019 "we really wanted to be a carbon neutral school and knew it wasn't a pipe dream".
He said everyone worked hard to raise money for a solar-powered farm on the site and as part of the building process money was also raised for additional facilities, including an astro-turf pitch.
He said the solar panels "will pay themselves off over the next six or seven years because it's already saved us about €10,000 in electricity bills."
Mr Glynn also noted the environmental impact of the project, by saving "the equivalent of 2,000 trees, which is about a seven acre forest. And that's how much we've done in the first 12 to 15 months so we expect that the benefits financially and environmentally are going to go on for the next 30 to 40 years."
Emer O'Donnell, Ádhamh Leyden and Ciara Dee are members of the school's green committee and are immensely proud of their carbon neutral school.
"Yes we are the only fully solar panel school in Ireland. And it's great for the environment, we created more green energy than we needed and the electricity bills went way down," said Emer
Ádhamh said: "It means the school is better off, we save way more money on electricity and it's all green electricity and not fossil fuels. Everyone in this school knows how important it is to protect the environment"
Ciara said pupils help grow vegetables in the school plot and are also involved in a rewilding project.
"We love being a green school and we have a big battery installed here as well that charges up and and stores electricity. My class knows a lot more about biodiversity than they did last year!" she beamed
Senator Róisín Garvey, Green Party Spokesperson for Rural Development, has been working with the school for many years.
She said: "Around three years ago, we brought in legislation to finally get rid of the nonsense around having to get planning permission to put up solar panels. And that was the beginning I suppose of the solar revolution, because now domestic and private and schools and public buildings can put solar panels on their roofs without going through all this bureaucracy.
"It is amazing to see a school with over 650 students become completely powered by solar energy and save money in doing so. This shows that switching to clean, green energy can be done and the Green Party is working to ensure every school in Ireland will follow in the footsteps of Ennis."
Schools around the country will be able to apply for free solar panels this year.
Funding of up €10,000 will be provided to eligible schools under the Solar for Schools Programme.
The scheme will cover the cost of a six kilowatts system with the installation of around 16 solar panels on the rooftops of schools.
