A GRASSROOTS football club in Rugby making great saves on its energy bills by generating its own electricity.
Rugby Borough FC has had a new solar and battery system installed by E.ON Next and The Football Association.
The clean energy upgrades, provided as part of England Football’s Greener Game programme, are predicted to save the Kilsby Lane club more than £4,000 a year.
After an audit by E.ON specialists to see exactly how the club was using energy, the clubhouse was fitted with a 13kWp solar array connected to a 17.4kWh battery that will store the renewable energy for when it is needed.
The solar panels and battery storage allow the club to generate and store its own renewable electricity. Since the audit, the club also reviewed how it heats water, isolating one of its gas boilers and halving its gas usage for water heating by 50 per cent.
For the club, which runs three full-size 3G pitches used by 92 teams of different ages and stages of development, every pound saved can be reinvested back into facilities, future improvements and the community.
The club’s General Secretary Stu Bishop said he hoped the new technology would support more investment for the club’s future as well as reduce costs.
Stu said: “We’re a large club with 92 teams, and the clubhouse and facilities are used seven days and evenings a week, so these changes make a big difference for a busy community club.
“Thanks to the Greener Game, we were able to install 41 solar panels on the roof, which will save us a significant amount of money over the year – the projected saving is just over £4,000 per year.
“It’s not just about the impact on the club, but the wider community too. The small changes we’ve made can inspire people to make similar changes at home. It feels like we’re leading the way in energy saving within the local community, and that’s something people are proud of. That ripple effect is really powerful.”
The Greener Game is set to invest £1.5million each year into grassroots football.
Phil Woodward, The FA’s Head of Clubs and Facilities, said: “Improving facilities is a key part of our grassroots strategy and our partnership with E.ON Next allows us to give clubs like Rugby Borough practical tools and knowledge to embrace energy-efficient practices that will not only improve their operations and benefit the environment, but will also enable them to save money.”
Scott Somerville, E.ON UK’s Director of External Affairs, added: “The most effective way to cut bills is to enable people to generate and store their own energy.
“If clubs spend less on their energy bills, they have more to invest back into what really matters to them and the communities that love them.”
Visit www.englandfootball.com/greenergame for more information.
