Latest news from Loughborough University
| 11 September 2006 | PR 06/101 |
Loughborough University powering the way to a greener future
Loughborough University is set to become even more environmentally friendly by generating its own electricity.
For the last five years the University has been purchasing 100 percent of its power from renewable sources and was the first in the country to do so. Now it plans to go one step further, and generate its own electricity.
A £1.3m scheme to construct a combined heat and power (CHP) plant on campus has commenced and it will be operational by March 2007. CHP plants make better use of primary fuel by reducing transmission losses, which occur when the electricity is in transit from the power station to the customer. They significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and also make use of the heat produced when electricity is generated, which a conventional power station would normally reject to waste.
It is estimated that the Loughborough campus plant will prevent 1,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions being released into the atmosphere. The heat it will create will be used to keep Pilkington Library cool during the summer and to provide heating for the adjacent student accommodation in the winter.
A combined heat and power plant is already in use on the Holywell Park area of the campus. This was purchased along with the site in 2003 and is used to generate electricity for this section of the University.
Greg Watts, the University’s Energy Manager said: “This demonstrates our commitment to improving the University’s environmental performance by adding a second combined heat and power plant to the campus. We are currently working with the Carbon Trust on a Carbon Management Programme and this new equipment provides an excellent start to the savings in carbon emissions that we are seeking.”
ENDS
For all media enquiries contact:
- Judy Smyth, Loughborough University Public Relations Office,
T: 01509 228697, E: J.L.Smyth@lboro.ac.uk
Notes to editors
Loughborough has an established reputation for excellence in teaching
and research, strong links with industry, and unrivalled sporting achievement.
Assessments of teaching quality by the Quality Assurance Agency place
it in the top flight of UK universities; the National Student Survey ranked
Loughborough equal first among full-time students; and industry highlights
the University in its top five for graduate recruitment. Around 40% of
Loughborough’s income is for research, and 60% for teaching. The
University has been awarded five Queen's Anniversary Prizes: for its collaboration
with aerospace and automotive companies such as BAE Systems, Ford and
Rolls Royce; for its work in developing countries; for pioneering research
in optical engineering; for its world-leading role in sports research,
education and development; and for its outstanding work in evaluating
and helping to develop social policy-related programmes.
In 2006 Loughborough celebrates the 40th anniversary of its University
Charter, awarded on 19 April 1966 in recognition of the excellence achieved
by Loughborough College of Advanced Technology and its predecessor Colleges.
Loughborough University of Technology was renamed Loughborough University
in 1996.