First sun-powered prison

Edinburgh Prison and the National Wildlife Centre in Liverpool are among those to receive funding for innovative solar power projects. New solar power projects across the UK are to receive government funding, energy minister Mike O'Brien announced this week.

Seventeen projects were chosen for funding worth £1.4m out of total Government funding of £40m for solar.

Schools, community centres and businesses are among those who will also benefit. This funding round supports medium to high (5-100kWp) scale solar electric power installations under the government's Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme.

The 17 successful projects are:

Shields Environmental, Purfleet, Essex

Lowry Renaissance, Linthwaite, West Yorkshire

Preston Road Village Centre, Hull, Yorkshire and Humberside

Kirklees Metropolitan Council, Fernside Ave, Huddersfield

Manor and Castle Development Trust, Parkway Commercial Estate, Sheffield

Elephant & Castle Regeneration Partnership, Southwark, London

Dunbar Community Development Company, East Lothian

Scottish Prison Service, Edinburgh, Scotland

Ministry of Defence, Faslane Supermess Building, Scotland

Landlife, National Wildflower Centre, Court Hey Park, Liverpool

Levenshulme High School, Rochdale, Greater Manchester

Kensington Academy Trust, Liverpool

Infinity Foods, Brighton, East Sussex

The Environment Agency Thames Region HQ, Reading

University of Wales, Bangor, Wales

Western Education & Library Board, Lisneal College, Londonderry,

Northern Ireland