SOLAR panels could become a familiar sight on church roofs after the Bishop of Hereford gave his support to the innovative new proposals.

The plan to use the country's churches as energy providers is a direct response to the Government's White Paper pledging carbon dioxide emissions will drop 60% by 2050.

Together with academics from the University of East Anglia and scientists from the Cred project, the Rt Rev John Oliver would like to see the figure achieved in half the time and believes churches can play an integral part in this environmental operation.

He said: "As we know, churches were built running east to west, which means they have a huge roof space that is facing south and catching the sun's rays."

Friendly

Consequently, the churches possess enormous potential for generating environmentally friendly renewable energy."

As a fervent opponent of the failed Golden Valley wind farm plan, the bishop may seem like an unlikely supporter of solar power, but he says there are many differences between the two forms of alternative energy.

"Obviously there are variations of wind power with off-shore and on-shore stations, but on the whole, solar energy is more reliable than wind power and as solar energy evolves and is used on a bigger scale, it will become cheaper and more economical," he explained.

Although the basic principles appear solid, the bishop confirmed solar panels would not be in place overnight.

"It is very early days and there are many obstacles. I have seen entire church roofs covered in solar panels in Germany and in truth they do not look too good," he said.

"We will need to overcome aesthetic and economic difficulties and also discover how to link the electricity from the church roofs to the national grid system."

However, the bishop believes others will see the light and help future generations avoid the growing dangers of global warming.

"There is a big job to persuade people that in principle this could work well and I would like to encourage the debate in the church.

"I am sure that with time and with the development of technology, we will soon have solar panels which are more pleasing on the eye," he added.