In a suburban corner of Scarborough, on the edge of one of the town’s most socially deprived areas, sits Wreyfield Drive Methodist Church.
The church not only acts a centre for religious worship, but also offers valuable services to struggling families and those most need.
As far as it can, the team at Wreyfield Drive offers its services for free, through volunteers and donations, so keeping energy bills to a minimum is a must.
“We are on the edge of a very needy estate,” explains Rev Pam Ward, the Minister at Wreyfield for the past four years.
“We’re aware of the needs of the community and we try to offer everything for free. For example we offer free breakfasts for families and their children throughout every school holiday. There’s a toddler group every Friday and we have the elderly pop-in group.”
In 2024, after a successful application to York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority’s £7million Net Zero Fund, Wreyfield installed 52 solar panels on its roof.
The application to the Net Zero Fund came from the Yorkshire North & East Methodist District, of which Wreyfield is member. A total of £739,465 was given in grants to methodist churches in York and North Yorkshire, to supply sustainable technology such as solar panels.
Wreyfield’s solar panels are estimated to achieve an average 15,528 kWh/year (kilowatt hours per year). To put this in context, the average household in the UK consumes 2,700 kWh/year of electricity. Or to really put it into context, enough electricity to produce 621,129 cups of tea.
In April, which was unusually sunny, the solar panels provided 98 per cent of the church’s electricity needs. In addition almost 1,000 kWh of sustainable energy was exported back to the grid.
Rev Ward added: “Having the solar panels means we can offer what we need to the community but we can also peg the prices of some of the services and facilities we do charge for. It’s made such a difference – we don’t have to worry about the big bills coming.
“I personally have totally bought into this technology and the benefit of to the environment.”
The Net Zero Fund continues to help deliver more projects throughout York and North Yorkshire, with the potential to reduce energy bills, stimulate economic growth and create jobs.