Following the planning meeting on 4 April 2011, Chief Operating Officer Andrew Neal commented: “The University is delighted that Lancaster City Council’s planning committee have approved this important project. The wind turbine will bring many local benefits, which include lowering carbon emissions in the area, and providing employment and contractor opportunities during construction.
“The project has received significant support both locally and throughout Lancaster, and the University would like to thank all those who expressed their support. The University’s success continues to benefit the wider community by bringing employment to the region, helping small to medium businesses and providing sporting and cultural opportunities. “Energy savings from the project will help to ensure that available funds can be invested in providing high quality education and that the University remains competitively placed as one of the top universities in the UK.”
The £5m wind turbine project is backed by a loan from the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s Transformational Fund which was made available specifically for Higher Education Institutions across England to radically transform their approaches to energy consumption and reducing emissions. The University was one of only three out of the 37 applicants to gain such support.
It is planned that the turbine will be operational in 2012.
Lancaster University is planning to erect a single 2 megawatt wind turbine on the neighbouring Hazelrigg site [view map]. It is estimated that the turbine would produce approximately 17% of the University’s annual electrical power requirements, equivalent to two thirds of the residential requirements of all students who live on campus. The wind turbine would make a significant contribution towards Lancaster University cutting its carbon emissions, and reducing the dependency on the National Grid.
Energy Review
In 2008 the University undertook a detailed assessment of conventional and renewable energy sources which identified the most suitable low carbon technologies which could be used to generate electrical power at Lancaster University.
The wind turbine plan is part of a comprehensive review of green energy, and includes several other major projects to reduce its carbon emissions, such as replacing its main boilers for vastly more efficient models, installing a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Unit and drawing up plans to install a biomass boiler. The other key area of development is behavioural change, and the University is expanding its carbon saving competitions for students, is currently targeting staff in order to enable them to improve energy efficiency in their work areas as well as implementing dozens of small scale energy and water saving projects.
Benefits of the Wind Turbine
The proposed wind turbine will give a significant saving to Lancaster University's current energy costs. Like many large public and private sector organisations, the University will effectively be taxed on its carbon emissions under the mandatory CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, introduced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. It is therefore vital that the University acts responsibly to reduce its carbon footprint, and avoid any unnecessary costs. The energy savings from the proposed turbine will help to ensure that available funds can be invested in high quality learning and the University remains competitively placed as one of the Top 10 Universities in the UK.
Lancaster University's success continues to benefit the wider community by bringing employment to the region and encouraging economic prosperity. The University also helps numerous small to medium sized businesses each year. The wind turbine itself will bring benefits to the area. As well as lowering carbon emissions and reducing demand on the National Grid, it will provide employment and contractor opportunities during construction.
This proposal will also bring national benefits. Global climate change is accepted as being the greatest environmental challenge facing our world today. The results of a Living in Lancashire survey released in May 2010 by Lancashire County Council found that six in ten people are concerned about the impact of climate change in Lancashire. Together with the need to ensure long-term security of energy supply, it imposes an obligation on all of us to consider ways of reducing our carbon footprint and sourcing more of our energy from renewable resources.
Energy generation from onshore wind has an important role to play, and, although there is progress, the need for further renewable energy resources remains. The proposed turbine would provide up to 2MW of clean electricity, which alone could provide enough electricity to power 1,118 homes.