Skip to content
Search

Solar panels installed as part of £3.3m decarbonisation project

Published:

Solar panels on a building's roof in the foreground with a crane above in the background

Work is underway to install new solar panels on the roofs of the University of Bradford's JB Priestley Library and Student Central buildings as part of the latest phase of a £3.3 million decarbonisation scheme.

The work, which will be carried out throughout April and May 2024, is part of a government-funded project to help the university in delivering low carbon heating and other decarbonisation works on campus.

Two people on a roof watch as a crane above them delivers a large wooden box onto the roof

Other works taking place at the university include:

  • Decarbonisation of the JB Priestley Library and Student Central’s heating, and hot water services. The installation of the electrically fed four-pipe Air Source Heat Pump will create both heating and cooling for the buildings.
  • Replacement of the ventilation systems in the library building to reduce energy consumption.
  • Replacement of the original High Voltage Equipment, which serves the university’s JB Priestley Library, Student Central, Phoenix North East and Phoenix South West and dates back to the 1970s.

A large wooden pallet covered in see-through film wrap which is filled with solar panels

Earlier this year, the university managed to secure £2.473m for the decarbonisation project from Government funding, with an extra £835,000 pledged by the university.

Professor Shirley Congdon, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford, said: “Along with other public bodies universities have a vital role in decarbonisation. Decarbonisation also plays a part in attracting staff and students.

“According to Universities UK (UUK) 91 per cent of students wanting their place of study to actively take action and with 74 per cent of international students saying that how seriously the university takes global and environmental issues is most likely to influence their choice of institution. This means we must continue to take a more strategic and whole system approach to de-carbonisation.”