CISWO is pleased to provide funding for a solar energy project at Dodworth Miners’ Welfare, through its programme of grant funding support to improve the lives of people in former mining communities.
Dodworth Miners’ Welfare, provides recreational facilities alongside a social club venue and has fitted 50 solar panels to the roof of its 600-capacity spectator stand, to power up its community activities. 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.
The £25,000 investment has been backed by funding from CISWO and the Net Zero Barnsley programme.
The welfare uses power to run its busy Tappers Bar and function room, plus a range of facilities used by dozens of grassroots football, rugby league, and bowling clubs, a boxing club, and a brass band. 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.
Dodworth Miners’ Welfare chairman Eric Richardson, who was a miner for 50 years, 26 of them at the Dodworth colliery, 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. I’ve loved monitoring the app for our daily readings. 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.
It is estimated that this huge PV system will generate around 18,920 kWh of electricity a year, reducing CO2 carbon emissions by 3,917 kg annually. The welfare’s annual electricity consumption is 4,600 kWh a year, and the solar panels are expected to directly supply about 2,010 kWh of that. The surplus energy they generate on long 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 in Smart Export Guarantee payments.
Eric concludes:
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.
Dodworth Miners Welfare was founded in 1925 and, when the pit was open, miners paid 50 pence 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.
Located on High Street, behind the Thornely Arms pub, the welfare has four high quality pitches, a MUGA and bowling green. It will host its annual music festival, Dod’erth Minefest, on July 5th and the All England Bowling Championships on July 26th. The club’s next developments will focus on its beer garden, changing rooms and access.
The Business Village has delivered the Net Zero Barnsley programme, in partnership with Barnsley Council, as part of the Low Carbon Project, part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Sheffield City Council was the accountable body for the South Yorkshire region.
Watch this short film below to find out more.
For more information about the support we offer to mining welfare charities, please visit our Supporting Charities webpage here.