Infographic - University of Southampton CHP banner

Hot on the heels of their campaign to tag investments in carbon reduction on campus, the University’s sustainability team launched an infographic highlighting the significant benefits of the University’s Combined Heat and Power Plant.

Many staff and students wouldn’t know it, but the University has its own power plant on the Highfield Campus. Most power plants will waste the heat produced in the generation of electricity by either releasing it into the sea or as steam into the air, but the University’s CHP captures this heat and distributes it around campus for heating water, buildings and even the swimming pool.

The CHP was a £3.5m investment, but saves £560,000 in energy costs each year.

The University's Head of Engineering Services, Mark Turner, who helped initiate the project nearly a decade ago, says: "This was a significant investment for the University and I'm really pleased that we are celebrating some of the benefits, not least the 5,750 tonnes of carbon the plant saves every year."

The infographic was supported by the University's Carbon Management Fund -  a £4m investment in ideas that will reduce the university's carbon emissions and improve sustainability on the campuses.

You can find out more here or you can find out more about the university's Carbon Management Plan projects here.