News Story

14th December 2011
New £16m Leicester School Opts for Innovative ‘Green’ Fuel

Leicester, UK – A brand new £16 million school currently being constructed for Rushey Mead Secondary School, Leicester - under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme - is set to generate the vast majority of its own electricity, heating and hot water, from regionally-grown rapeseed oil – resulting in incredibly-low carbon emissions.

The energy system is being installed at the Leicester site by LowC Communities Ltd, the Lincolnshire-based low-carbon energy specialist. As the rapeseed has absorbed carbon dioxide whilst growing – it’s inherently ‘green’ and results in little or no carbon emissions – something that’s widely accepted as one of the main causes of climate change.

Richard Griffin, chief executive of LowC Communities, commented: “This technology, which is known as combined heat and power (CHP), uses the rapeseed oil as a fuel to power an engine that drives a generator to produce the building’s electricity. The heat created by the engine is recovered to provide hot water that can be used for the school’s heating and hot water.”

“With the fuel being grown and processed in the East Midlands area, it will help both the regional economy and keep transport down to an absolute minimum – which makes the whole process much more sustainable than using fossil-fuels such as gas and electricity from the national grid.

“The UK has set targets to both reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and increase the use of renewable energy technologies and this type of project does exactly that.”

It is predicted that, once in operation, the system will annually save around 274 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions – when compared to fossil-fuel-based traditional heating and electricity supplied by the national networks. To put this figure into everyday terms, it would be the equivalent of the annual carbon emissions from around 140 small cars (based on 10,000 miles per annum – per car).

Due to its green credentials, the system will also attract an additional income for the Local Authority from the Government’s Renewables Obligation Certificates scheme – better known as ROCs. These schemes have been set up to encourage the use of renewable energy technologies as the UK works towards its target of having 15% of its total energy derived from renewable sources by the year 2020.

Griffin continued: “The fuel is produced from rapeseed grown as a break crop – i.e. one that is grown whilst resting agricultural land from cereals production and is not in direct competition with food production – avoiding the thorny issue of using food for fuel. This approach is not only better for the environment, but it is helping the British farming industry diversify at what has been a tough time.”

“It’s a simple process; once harvested, the small black seeds from the plant are crushed to extract the oil, which is then passed through a series of increasingly-fine filters to remove any impurities. The residual crushed seeds - known as ‘rapemeal’ - have a relatively-high oil content – making it perfect as an animal feed or for use as a solid biofuel for heating.”

The school, which has around 1,400 pupils aged between 11 and 16 years, will also benefit from a six-court sports hall and enhanced teaching facilities when the new building is constructed on existing playing fields. LowC Communities has been engaged by MITIE – the mechanical and electrical sub-contractor employed by Miller Construction, the main contractor for the project – which is set to be completed in May 2012.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Further Press Information
Please contact Tim Ward of Parker Ward Limited.
T: +44 (0)1743 344 197
M: +44 (0)7966 022 532 (including out of hours)
E: tim@parker-ward.com

LowC Communities Ltd
LowC is a privately-owned company that specialises in the design, construction and operation of low-carbon technologies in the built environment. Bringing together a team with an unrivalled expertise that spans building physics, low-carbon design, sustainable construction, renewable energy supply, operation and maintenance – the company is delivering low-carbon solutions in operation, not just on the drawing board.

Based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, LowC’s clients include: developers, property owners, private investors and government bodies across all sectors – both public and private. They operate in four core business areas: consulting, technologies, construction and energy services.