A CHESTER community group is calling on residents to chip in for an eco-friendly project at two local sports centres.

Chester Community Energy Ltd (CCEL) provides renewable energy generation in the Chester area.

It has advanced plans to add a further 120kW of solar PV generation to its existing generation assets and is about to launch a share offer to raise the capital costs of installation.

Two solar PV projects are planned for installation on the roofs of Christleton and Neston sports centres. They will provide less expensive electricity for the sports centres and reduce the carbon footprint of the buildings.

In addition, a separate project to install LED lighting will be included in the share offer to provide capital funding to install lighting in five community centres.

CCEL aleady owns and operates a 50kW solar PV system on the council-owned Northgate Arena leisure centre in Chester.

Graham Booth, director of CCEL, said: “We are asking the public if they will support our work by purchasing shares which pay a decent rate of interest and will save over 900 tonnes of CO2 over the lifetime of the panels.

“We have been told by the International Panel on Climate Change, who provide the most authoritative and broad based research information on climate change, that net emissions of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere, notably CO2 and methane, must be reduced to near zero in the next 11 years to avoid catastrophic events which will affect all of us.

“CCEL is just one of a number of environmental/sustainability groups active in the Chester area that is responding to the present climate crisis and we hope that the public will support us and help grow the business so that more renewable energy projects can be installed in the Chester area”.

A total of £122,000 is to be raised through the purchase of shares in CCEL. They will be available to be purchased by the general public until November 22.

Interest of up to four per cent will be paid annually on all shares purchased, although this may change in the future at the director’s discretion, depending on unknown factors such as inflation and weather conditions.

Over the 20-year lifetime of the panels, a total of £90,000 is projected to be raised for community benefit and future project investment.

Grants of £4,000 for local community groups have already been provided and it is the intention of the CCEL directors to continue to offer annual grants to help local groups reduce their energy bills.

The directors are all volunteers and do not receive any payments for the time they spend running the business.

Anyone interested in these community projects and/or purchasing shares should visit the CCEL website at www.chestercommunityenergy.org.uk where a Share Offer Document and Business Plans are available for viewing.

For anyone without internet access, they can text or ring 07445 989736 and speak to a director and receive the documents by post.

When the necessary funds have been raised, the solar PV panels will be installed during December 2019 or January 2020.