A MUSEUM could soon show the coal-powered energy it celebrates being finally overtaken by renewable energy.

The National Coal Mining Museum at Overton, between Huddersfield and Wakefield, has applied for planning permission to install solar panels.

The museum’s solar panels will be put on the roof of the Hope Store, a building which forms part of the Caphouse Colliery museum.

In a planning application to Kirklees Council, the museum’s director, Dr Margaret Faull, says the solar panels would have a peak output of just under 50kW, which is the approximate energy usage of 12-15 houses.

The plan is open to public comment via Kirklees Council.