Harper Adams picks up environmental award

Posted 19 April 2006

GREEN staff and students at Harper Adams University College are celebrating after picking up a prestigious national award.

The university college has collected the winning Green Gown Award after installing the UK’s first micro-turbine biomass generator.

The news of winning the Smaller Institutions category of the award comes just weeks before Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal will unveil a plaque commemorating the opening of the Bioenergy Development Centre.

The generator, which is capable of producing 100kWh of renewable electricity and 150kWh of heat, will be able to generate enough energy to provide a quarter of Harper Adams’ average electrical demand.

It is expected the generator, which is due to be officially unveiled later this spring, will also be able to provide 50 per cent of the heat needed for the students’ union building, the main conference building, the students’ union bar and two student halls of residence through a district heating system.

Professor Wynne Jones, Principal of Harper Adams University College, commented on the award: “It is wonderful to be recognised for our work towards the environment in this way.

“The university college was pleased to be nominated for such a prestigious award but are obviously thrilled to be given the award.

“The project is the result of a unique collaboration between one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of biomass systems, Talbott’s Engineering, and the University College. We aim to undertake research on the system and to demonstrate the practical benefits of biomass as a sustainable and secure source of energy.

The Green Gown Awards are the benchmark of high quality performance in sustainable higher education. The awards are jointly sponsored by a range of sector organisations, environmental networks and the Royal Institution of British Architects.

The decision of the awards was announced by the HEFCE Chief Executive,
Steve Egan, at the EAUC conference last week (April 12).