DULVERTON'S Catholic church will receive a special blessing today (Friday) as part of its bid to generate green energy for both the church and the local community.

St Stanislaus has become the first Catholic church in the Clifton diocese to install environmentally friendly photovoltaic panels on the church roof.

Bishop Declan Lang will officially bless the new installation at a special church ceremony at midday today.

The 45 panels have already generated 1,879 kilowatt hours of clean electricity since being installed on the south-west roof in late March.

The system was designed specifically for St Stanislaus by Nottingham-based company Evoenergy and paid for through a bequest from Brushford resident Josephine Carbery.

But while the panels are producing 'free' power for the church, hopes of generating funds by selling the surplus energy back into the National Grid have currently been thwarted by a shift in Government policy.

David Reeves, chairman of the parochial church council, said: "We are immensely proud of this achievement. Exmoor is leading the way.

"We have acted responsibly in reducing our carbon footprint and have made a positive contribution to mitigating the effects of climate change."

He said church supporters were now waiting to hear from the Department of Energy and Climate Change in the hope the parish would be able to sign-up to a 'Feed In' energy tariff and be paid for producing green electricity.

Father Robert Miller, whose Catholic parish covers the whole of southern Exmoor, said: "It's not often a small country parish takes the lead, but we're the first in the diocese to invest in producing green energy."

St Stanislaus was founded in a former stable in Dulverton in the 1950s as a result of a gift from the Herbert family from nearby Pixton.