Meet the students who broke down barriers to get solar panels on their schools!

We are delighted to share the latest achievements of the students, teachers, communities and Friends of the Earth supporters behind the Solar Schools Project.

For this project, schools across Ireland competed to win solar panels for their roofs in our “For the Love of Solar'' competition; creating videos, apps and more to engage their communities in local climate action. We were blown away by the standard of the competition entrants and by the huge appetite for solar power that exists among students and their teachers.

The seven winning schools - Coláiste Chroí Mhuire, Guardian Angels' National School, Mercy Moyderwell, Presentation Secondary School, Scoil Naomh Bríd, St Peter's College and St. Paul's CBS - have just had their panels installed on their roofs. To celebrate this feat and to hear their journey, our new Communications Officer and filmmaker Laragh met the winning schools and asked them how they felt about their achievement. You can watch what they said here! 

Succeeding in getting solar panels onto the winning schools took a lot of perseverance from everybody involved - a true testimony of community spirit. Their achievement isn’t just about winning the competition; prior to last year, schools faced huge hurdles to installing solar panels, such as the long and arduous requirement to apply for planning permission to put even one solar panel on a school roof. These planning requirements have since been removed following years of campaiging by schools, the Friends of the Earth community and our allies.

Thanks to teamwork and this continuous campaigning by Friends of the Earth supporters, we persuaded the Government to remove obstacles and to instead start actively supporting solar energy for schools. So whether you took one of our e-actions, talked to your TDs in person or sent them an email - your action has really mattered. Because now not only have our competition-winning schools got their panels, it’s significantly easier for all schools to get them too (more on that soon!).

Additionally, being on the ground within the schools and speaking with the students highlighted how empowering and hopeful the Solar Schools project was to them. The solar panels are part of the cure to mounting eco-anxiety that young people face and a tangible beacon of hope they can be proud of.

Over the coming months we’ll have more videos, actions and events that we’d love you to continue being a part of to help ensure every school in Ireland gets their solar panels. Be sure to follow the solar journey of Ireland’s schools and help them become beacons of light in our communities. 

If you would like to share this video with a friend - or on social media, here are the links! You can now retweet it here, share it on Facebook here or on Instagram here.

When we work together, we can make a difference!

 

We’re grateful to the Tomar Trust who provided us with funding to carry out our Solar Schools project and to the Tides Foundation and Patagonia for a grant to fund the production of this video. 

Additional support for the installation of the solar panels on schools was provided by: 

ABO Wind

Conradh na Gaeilge

EirGrid

Elgin Energy

Patagonia