Green Gown Awards 2018 - University of St Andrews - Highly Commended

With 4,779 tCO2 saved in the first year, and predicted 226,176 tCO2 lifetime savings, the Eden Campus Energy Centre is a state-of-the art facility, built to meet University of St Andrews’ heating and educational needs in a sustainable way.

The 6.5MW wood chip biomass plant and 23km district heating network was installed by Vital Energi and supplies 44% (by GIA) of the University’s teaching and accommodation buildings with renewable heating. The result is a reduction of c6,000 tCO2 each year, some 20% of the University’s total emissions. The energy centre was built in the heart of the Guardbridge community (6km from St Andrews), on the land of a former paper mill, remediating 1.45 hectares of brownfield land, while investing 73% of its £25M budget into the local and regional economy.

The energy centre is the first stage of the University’s new Eden Campus, which aspires to become a centre for sustainability and innovation, while simultaneously facilitating learning and teaching.

Top 3 learnings:

1. Planning for the long-term and doing the right thing pays off.

2. You can turn any event/situation into a learning and teaching opportunity.

3. Involve the community.  

CO2t savings 2017/2018: 4,779 (Actual)  

CO2t savings 2018/2019: 6,050 (Estimated)

CO2t savings over the life cycle of the project: 226,176 estimated over 25 years

Videos

• Green Gown Awards 2018 – Campus of the Future – University of St Andrews - Finalist (click to hide)