A COMMUNITY club which has been at the heart of a village since miners set it up 100 years ago is looking up to the sky - quite literally - as part of a first-of-its-kind project to harness renewable energy to power up its facilities in its centenary year.
Dodworth Miners’ Welfare, a charity which provides recreational facilities alongside a social club venue on High Street, has fitted 50 solar panels to the roof of its 600-capacity spectator stand.
Founded in 1925, miners paid 50p a week - direct from their pay packets - towards its upkeep.
Since the pit’s closure in 1987, the club has been through some tough financial times but has pulled through and its trustees, volunteers and staff continue to run a wide range of social and sporting facilities for its 1,000-strong membership and wider community.
It’s estimated that the system will generate around 18,920kWh of electricity a year, reducing CO2 carbon emissions by 3,917kg annually.
The £25,000 investment has been backed by funding from the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO) for the first time and the Net Zero Barnsley programme, delivered by The Business Village in partnership with Barnsley Council.
Its new PV system with four batteries can capture the energy it generates in daylight hours to use when needed for example, to power its playing field floodlights. On top of that, the system is primed to sell the excess power it generates back to the National Grid, earning the club feed-in payments.
Chairman Eric Richardson - who clocked up 50 years’ service as a miner - said: “We’re a very busy club and our electricity bills have been a big part of our outgoings - and a major headache - for many years.
“It’s been fantastic to get on board with modern renewables and independently generate our own power on our own premises.
“The roof of our stand has proved to be an excellent spot for solar panels, and they’ve had an unbelievable impact already.
“The panels are set to almost halve our annual bills and make us money through feed-in payments as well.
“We hope to be about £3,500 a year up, which will make a huge difference to our bottom line.
“We really appreciate the financial backing we’ve received from CISWO and the funding and specialist support we’ve had from Net Zero Barnsley to get this up and running.
“There was a lot to do before we could flick the switch.”
The charity uses power to run its busy Tappers Bar and function room, plus a range of facilities used by many grassroots football teams, rugby league and bowling clubs, a boxing club, and a brass band.
Its annual electricity consumption is 4,600kWh a year, and the solar panels are expected to directly supply about 2,010kWh of that - slashing their electricity bills by nearly half.
The surplus energy they generate on sunny days - which they’re not able to capture and use themselves - will be sold to the National Grid and earn them a further estimated £2,500 a year.
Net Zero Barnsley business development manager Kevin Steel added: “Dodworth village is built on a proud mining heritage, but its residents don’t live in the past.
“A very strong, vibrant community spirit is alive and kicking today, and we’ve been very pleased to help the miners’ welfare trustees investigate and invest in a PV system to generate their own renewable energy on site. It has huge potential to save them money, make them money and dramatically reduce carbon emissions now and in the future.”
This is the first solar energy project CISWO has part-funded through its programme of grant funding support to improve the lives of people in former mining communities.
CISWO’s development manager, Rick O’Toole, said: “We are pleased to provide funding towards the solar panels.
“With charities facing rising energy bills, these energy efficiency improvements are a sustainable way to reduce costs, allowing surplus funds to be reinvested into improving other amenities on site.”
