Heavens above! A Bristol church has found a way round its electricity bills – with some help from the Almighty.

The church in Windmill Hill has had solar panels fitted to its roof.

And church officials reckon it will save them almost £800 a year on fuel bills.

A total of 26 solar panels have been installed on the roof of the 19th-century St Michael and All Angels Church.

Together they will generate about 4,200 units of electricity each year and save about £780 on bills.

The project is expected to meet the majority of the church's electricity costs and cut carbon dioxide emissions by two tonnes each year.

Inside the church in Vivian Street, visitors will be able to see a screen showing information about how much energy has been generated by the system and the carbon dioxide savings.

The £20,695 cost was met by £10,347 from the Government's low-carbon buildings programme, £6,248 from EDF Energy's green fund and £4,100 in donations from the local community.

The project is believed to be one of the first of its kind on a church building in Bristol. The Post exclusively revealed the plans in May last year.

The Rev David Moss said: "The scaffolding is down and the solar panels are looking great.

"We've had some bright, sunny days and it is exciting watching the amount of green energy generated increasing all the time.

"Living in a city, with lots of pollution and main roads running through our community, people are very aware that we have to make changes. We have to change our way of living to reduce our carbon footprint.

"This project was driven by a few really committed individuals for whom global warming is a vital issue.

"They gave the money to get this idea off the ground – one of them simply said they wanted to make a positive contribution to the world before they died.

"Our hope as a church and community is that this is the first step and that we will go on making improvements to reduce our carbon footprint using the capital we save."

The church is used daily by the wider community, including a playgroup, vulnerable parents' projects, clubs, evening classes and for worship.

The solar panels are the first stage of an energy-saving and generation programme at the church centre. Church members plan to invest the money saved through the solar panels to help fund future projects, such as roof insulation.

EDF Energy has awarded £3.7million to 221 renewable energy projects since the green fund was launched in 2001, including £1.3m to 89 projects in schools, nurseries and colleges.

EDF Energy's Jo Steven said: "The members of this church are really keen to reduce carbon emissions and encourage environmental responsibility in the wider community. We hope it will increase awareness about renewable energy and inspire visitors to consider how they can act to reduce their own impact on the environment. Not all of us can install solar panels but we can all reduce our carbon footprint through lifestyle changes and energy efficiency."