When cleaning up our own generating capacity is to costly we give peanuts to schools.

Energy company E.ON has given a £17,618 grant under it's SOURCE community initiative towards the cost of installing a solar panel system at Wyburns Primary School in Rayleigh.

(improving some of our vastly innefiecient coal plants or building renewables ourselves is a bit costly, we prefer this kind of tokenism which is suprisingly afordable)

The cash will go towards the installation of 20 high-efficiency ‘hybrid' photovoltaic panels, which will generate ‘clean' energy from the sun and convert it into electricity.

The primary school has already achieved Eco-schools bronze status with its Waste and Energy Reduction Policy, and it is expected that the solar installation will help the school to stop an additional 2,210kg of carbon dioxide from being emitted every year.

Tony Jenkin-Jones, Community Relations Executive at E.ON, said: "The school really impressed us with their commitment to the environment and we're delighted to award them SOURCE funding to help make their solar project a reality.

"With the new hybrid system, not only will they be able to cut their carbon emissions significantly, they'll also benefit from savings on their energy bills."

Neil Stone, year five teacher at the school, said: "We're delighted with the grant as it means that we can continue to make Wyburns an even greener place to learn and work.

"The teaching and learning opportunities that the project presents are very exciting and the whole school is looking forward to the next stage."

E.ON launched its SOURCE fund in 2007 to help with the costs of sustainable energy projects for community buildings.

The fund is backed up by the SOURCE website, which provides information and advice for community groups seeking to become more energy efficient or generate their energy from sustainable sources.

The website, which contains full details of how to apply for a grant, can be accessed at