Solar panels blessed on minster roof

More than 180 solar panels on the roof of York Minster have been switched on during a blessing ceremony led by the Dean of York.

The panels on the South Quire roof are expected to generate 70,000 kWh of energy, providing a third of the minster's electricity requirements.

It is the fourth solar installation on the minster estate, which together will generate 120,000 kWh of energy per year, enough to power 41 average UK homes.

The Very Rev Dominic Barrington said the founding fathers of the minster would "applaud" the occasion as they were at the "cutting edge of technology in their day".

Alex McCallion, director of works and precinct at York Minster, told the BBC the solar panels were part of the minster's "holistic approach to bringing the estate into the 21st Century."

Mr McCallion said it was a "major step forward in their decarbonisation journey".

"It's a Grade I listed building which is internationally important and we hope this project will inspire others to do the same."

Mr Barrington said he thought it was the "highest blessing" he had ever done in 30 years of ordained ministry.

"I am ecstatic that we've reached this milestone on my watch," he said.

"It's a day which reminds us that life, power and energy come from God and it is also a wonderful step forward in our own approach to our needs for energy."

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