Low carbon heat network goes live at Cambridgeshire secondary school
An innovative renewable heat network has gone live at a Cambridgeshire college slashing carbon emissions and reducing heating costs.
At a special unveiling on Monday, Salix and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero saw the equipment in action and heard from college students about the difference it had made to their learning experience.
Guests enjoying the afternoon at Comberton Village College. Image supplied by Andrew Hendry
The £3.1m project at Comberton Village College, just outside Cambridge, is now heated by ground source heat pumps, which have replaced the aging oil boilers, reducing the carbon emissions from heating the extensive site by 70%. The college is also expecting to see a reduction in the cost of running the low carbon heating system, compared to oil.
The project is a joint collaboration between The Cam Academy Trust, Cambridgeshire County Council and Bouygues Energies & Services.
It has been funded by a £1.9 million government grant from Phase 2 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) and a £1.2 million investment from Cambridgeshire County Council.
The PSDS scheme was initiated by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and is delivered by Salix Finance. The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme aims to put the public sector at the forefront of decarbonising buildings in the UK.
Stephen Munday, CEO of The CAM Academy Trust (L) and Councillor Stephen Ferguson, Chairman of Cambridgeshire County Council (R) unveiled a screen showing energy use at the college. This provides students and staff with an instant picture of how much energy is being used at Comberton Village College.
The event gave guests the opportunity to find out more about the decarbonisation scheme at Comberton Village College. Image supplied by Andrew Hendry.
The college’s heat network supplies 11 plant rooms across the site. Heat is supplied by two ground source heat pumps which are connected to 60, 200m deep boreholes, providing a peak of 705kW of heating to the college.
"We were delighted to be invited to the switch on event at Comberton Village College. It was great to hear from the partners that made the ambitious project happen. In particular it was fantastic to hear from students on how, as well as reducing carbon, the project will have long lasting educational impacts and inspire the next generation."
Salix Finance programme manager, Kirsty Adamson added: “We are delighted to see how this project has progressed and to understand how well the different stakeholders have worked together.
The Comberton Village College is a truly collaborative project which will help Cambridgeshire County Council meet its ambitious net zero targets. Hopefully, this will inspire, not only other schools to decarbonise their estates, but of course, the future generations coming up through the education system.”
The low carbon heat network will reduce carbon emissions from the college’s heating by 248 tonnes of CO2e (a 70% reduction). The 141kW solar photovoltaic arrays previously installed by Bouygues Energies & Services across three roofs also help to power the heat pumps.
21 March 2023
