THE rooftop of one of Didcot town centre’s landmark buildings has been transformed after £200,000 was invested in solar panels.

Over the summer, 190 photovoltaic panels were fixed to the roof of Baptist House in Broadway, and the project was officially launched by town mayor Phil Hayward on Monday.

Baptist House, which houses more than 100 staff, is the UK base for international mission, relief and development charity BMS Mission, as well as the Baptist Union of Great Britain.

Both BMS and BUGB have contributed more than £100,000 for the project, and expect to cover the cost of the investment in 12 years by selling electricity to the national grid.

The panels are expected to offset nearly half a million kilos of carbon dioxide emissions over the same period.

The Rev Jonathan Edwards, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, said: “Climate change increasingly affects us all, from the UK through to the world’s poorest people. We are delighted that our base here increasingly models the sustainable values we promote.”