A Bradford school which is using solar energy to slash its electricity bill and reduce emissions has been nominated for an award for its innovation.

Saltaire Primary School borrowed money from Bradford Council coffers to fund the 66 panels which are hidden in the roof and are invisible from the World Heritage Site in the first scheme of its kind in Bradford.

Councillor Martin Love (Shipley, Green) has nominated the school for a Telegraph & Argus Schools Award in the Science and Technology Award category.

He said: “This is a fantastic scheme and hopefully Saltaire Primary School can be an inspiration to other schools across the district.”

The school’s savings in its energy bill will be used to repay every penny borrowed from taxpayers during an estimated time span of 11 years.

And on top of expected energy savings, the panels will also reduce the school’s carbon dioxide emissions by more than 5,000kg.

“We are a green flag eco-school and we are really committed to things like this,” said head teacher Sally Stoker who pointed out that Saltaire itself was at the cutting edge of industrial technology when it was built.”

“There is an eco-committee of pupils, a governor and staff who will be monitoring just how well the solar panel scheme is working.

“And we will have a large screen at the school entrance which will show the performance and the savings being made.

“Now we’ve got it switched on we can also do lots of projects with maths, such as monitoring classrooms’ energy use and prizes for those who save the most by always switching things off.

“We now have this lovely Victorian building which is serving 21st century needs.”

At the switch-on, Cindy Peek, Bradford Council’s deputy director of children’s services, said: “This is an innovative project that will help towards protecting the environment and making Bradford a more sustainable place to be.”