Gulworthy Primary Schoolm near Tavistock in Devon, was give a green energy boost with a grant towards the cost of a biomass boiler from the Co-operative.

The school is among 80 in the UK to get a grant as part of the second phase of The Co-operative’s Green Energy for Schools scheme.

The chain has invested £1m installing solar panels at more than 100 UK schools since 2007.

It’s now investing a further £1m to help another 80 schools install solar panels, biomass boilers, ground source heat pumps and wind turbines.

Headteacher Melody Nicholls added: “This biomass boiler will make our school more sustainable so we can set an example to the wider community and create an impressive resource for educating pupils about renewable energy.”

Biomass boilers generate renewable heat and hot water by burning biomass such as wood, rather than fossil fuels such as natural gas.

The boiler at Gulworthy will be powered by wood pellets, which the school says is a carbon neutral process as wood emits the same amount of CO2 when burned as it absorbed during its growth.

Luke Walsh

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