A NAILSEA church has become the first place of worship in the town to install solar panels to help reduce its energy bills.

Nailsea Methodist Church has installed 40 of the panels on the west roof of the church at Silver Street.

The church, which was awarded Eco-Congregation status earlier this year, raised the £32,000 to pay for the panels through financial gifts and loans from the 200-strong congregation and a grant from the national Methodist Church.

It is estimated that the system, installed by Backwell company Solarsense, will dramatically shrink the church’s carbon footprint and lead to a 4.5 tonne carbon saving in the space of a year.

It is also estimated that the panels will see the church’s energy bills shrink by up to 25 per cent.

Project co-ordinator, Alan Emery, said: “As a Christian community we endeavour to be good stewards of the earth’s resources.

“We also have a deep concern for those whose livelihood is threatened by changes in the climate.

“In this project we demonstrate in a small way our support for ambitious targets to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.”

The church was awarded eco congregation status after launching a number of green initiatives.

The Eco-Congregation award is a project of Christian environmental organisation A Rocha UK.

To qualify for the award, the church had to provide evidence that it takes environmental concerns seriously and is taking steps to care for creation through good practice in everyday life.

Worshippers introduced a number of initiatives over the last three years to qualify for the title, including providing churchgoers with bins for recycling batteries and Christmas cards.

A compost bin has been installed for the leftovers from the church’s popular weekly lunch club for pensioners and a paper recycling scheme launched.

Minister the Rev Mandy Stevens said “It is really exciting to see the panels installed and Solarsense has been brilliant to work with. We are committed to being an eco-congregation and caring for our community and planet and this project contributes to that.”