Social Innovation at One of London's Historic Railway Stations

London's historic railway station, Blackfriars Bridge, built in 1886, is undergoing a multi-million pound social innovation 'green makeover, which will turn it into the world's largest solar bridge as more than 4,400 solar panels will be installed above the new station platform. Solar panels are the perfect way for rail operators to cut their carbon footprint; a carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organisation, event, product or person, which can be emitted through transport, land clearance, the production and consumption of food, fuels, manufactured goods, materials, wood, roads, buildings and services.

The work at Blackfriars will be completed in 2012 and it is expected the panels will generate around 900,000kWh of electricity a year, providing half of the station's energy, reducing its annual CO2 emissions by an estimated 511 tonnes. Derry Newman, CEO of Solarcentury, the company managing the project, says, "Blackfriars Bridge is an ideal location for solar energy: a new, iconic large roof space, right in the heart of London. Station buildings and bridges are fixed parts of our urban landscape and it is great to see that this one will be generating renewable energy every day into the future. For people to see that solar power is working is a vital step towards a clean energy future."

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Sangeeta Haindl is a staff writer for Justmeans on Social Enterprise. When not writing for Justmeans, Sangeeta wears her other hat as a PR professional. Over the years, she has worked with high-profile organizations within the public, not-for-profit and corporate sectors; and won awards from her industry. She now runs her own UK consultancy: Serendipity PR & Media.