Sustainable Technology

Harper Adams University College is committed to sustainable technologies and has completed a number of projects around the campus over the past few years.

Anaerobic Digester

The ENR-G (Energy and Nutrient Re-Generation) initiative aims to address three key policy issues identified in the Energy White Paper 2007. The project is a 350KWe waste to energy Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant using College Farm waste and food waste streams diverted from landfill to generate renewable power. It will enable Harper Adams to be largely self sufficient in electricity and heat on the main College campus.

The project is financially sustainable and will create ongoing carbon equivalent savings of 11,229 tonnes pa, representing 3.4 times the current emissions from campus buildings. In addition, the College will fix electricity and heat prices for 10 years, reducing exposure to market volatility and improving its energy security. A demonstration and research programme will guide others through AD system implementation, where links to the College's award-winning biomass CHP system will be explored.

• Anaerobic Digester facilities page
• Anaerobic Digester campus plan
• Harper Adams Energy website

Computer Power Consumption at Harper

Over the past year or so Information Services has been able to make major power consumption savings by automatically switching student workstations off overnight, at weekends, and during the day during out of term periods using remote software.

It is estimated that during term time each week:

• The standard evening switch off saves 24,500 hours of PC power;
• The weekend power down saves up to an extra 9,450 hours of PC time, giving a total of up to 33,950 PC hours;
• Over the 32 week academic year this is a saving of up to 1,086,400 PC hours.

During out of term periods each workstation is switched off for 23.5 hours each day, giving a saving of up to:

• 8,225 PC hours each day;
• 57,575 PC hours each week;
• 1,151,500 PC hours over the 20 week period.

Overall figures - a definite forced switch off time of 1,274,000 PC hours each year with a possibility of up to 2,379,000 PC hours.

Unfortunately we are unable to carry out this exercise with staff workstations as:

• members of staff working late would be unable to stop the automatic shutdown and then be unable to switch the workstation back on for up to 15 minutes;
• members of staff that need to leave software running overnight would find that it has switched off;
• staff that haven't saved work will have lost that work.

We therefore reply on staff to help in contributing reducing power consumption by switching off their workstations and printers at the end of each working day (not just switching off the monitor or logging out of their workstation, but actually logging off and switching off the power).

Driving down pollution

Harper Adams University College has launched an innovative solution to collecting materials for recycling at its Shropshire based campus. Electricity produced from the College's photovoltaic array is used to charge a versatile and agile electric utility vehicle: the ATX200e.

Recycling bins for glass and plastic bottles, and aluminium cans are located at all major building entrances at Harper Adams. The College's Recycling Policy aims to provide paper recycling bins in every office. Using the ATX200e charged with renewable electricity to collect materials for recycling provides a sustainable closed loop approach to waste management at the College.

• Download project summary

Slurry management through innovation

A modern slurry storage and management system was installed on the Harper Adams farm in 2004. It demonstrates best practice in waste management and utilisation. The storage system, referred to as a bagtank was manufactured by Albers Alligator, has a capacity of 5,000 m3 and is made of polyester fabric with high grade plastic on both sides. The plastic is inert to all types of slurry, even if it has become acidic. The company has installed over 1,200 bag systems, with over 1,000 of these during the past 10 years.

The storage system works in conjunction with an effective slurry application system. Slurry is pumped from the bagtank to an underground ring main which circles the farm. Hydrants on the ring main are attached to an umbilical applicator. The applicator is a 6 metre trailing shoe system which provides accurate placement of the slurry direct to the soil minimising ammonia loss, odour, and leaf contamination. An inline flow metre and nitrogen testing kit allow the operator to determine exactly the amounts of nitrogen being applied to individual fields.

• Download project summary