News | City are solar powered

City will be solar powered this season after 12kw of solar panels with a 12kw battery were installed at New Meadow Park during the closed season thanks to the FA’s Greener Game Initiative.

Launched in 2024, in partnership with E.ON Next, the Greener Game initiative was set up by the FA to support and empower grassroots football clubs by providing them with investment opportunities for sustainable upgrades, alongside educational resources and energy-saving guides.

As a three-star accredited club we qualified for grant funding to allow us to carry out the project.

“We have been 92% self-sufficient since the panels were installed a month ago,” revealed City’s Commercial Manager, Matt Phillips. “The self-generated power will help run the floodlights during the evening and whilst it won’t eliminate energy bills, it will certainly help to reduce them.”

Vice-Chair, Sarah Gordon- Jones, added: “When I first arrived at the club in the summer of 2024, I was keen to start building relationships with partners within the football family.

“My first port of call was the Gloucestershire FA where we talked about moving the club from being England Football Accredited two-star to three-star.

“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of a number of people behind-the-scenes both here at the club and within the GFA, we were able to achieve this pretty quickly and in doing so, it allowed us to push on and hold Thriving Club status, which in turn made us eligible to apply for the Greener Game programme, something which really caught my attention.

“The process has taken almost two years as we have gone through the various stages and panel assessments, but the successful application and installation this summer gives us a big boost in our long-term strategy of becoming sustainable both environmentally and, importantly, financially.

“It will assist us in making great strides in negating our energy bills month-on-month, something that is particularly important in the current climate of energy prices rising significantly.

“This puts us in the best possible position to make savings on our energy consumption and we hope the fans can see the legacy this will have and the appetite the board has for the long-term vision of the club.”