Salix College Energy Fund - over £3.8m of energy-efficiency projects completed to date

15th March 2016

A reflection on the progress of the Salix College Energy Fund has seen the completion of over £3.8m of projects, including its largest to date by City of Liverpool College.

The project, completed by the City of Liverpool College, incorporates a number of energy efficiency measures including LED lighting, lighting controls, air conditioning upgrades and new BEMS controls. Salix provided interest-free funding totalling £810,800.

The College is expecting to save 599 tonnes of carbon and over £163,000 each year from their energy bills, with lifetime financial savings expected to be more than £3.2 million. The majority of the savings are being generated through the installation of over 5,000 LED luminaires, which, coupled with automatic lighting controls, are estimated to provide an 80% reduction in electricity consumption compared to the previous fluorescent lightings.

Allan Taylor, Technical Services Manager at the college, said -
“The availability of Salix funding came at an opportune time for the College, as budget cuts impacted greatly on our maintenance programme. With the help of the Salix loan, we have not only been able to replace poorly performing lighting, but also reduce our energy bills and create an improved working environment for staff and students.”

Salix launched the College Energy Fund in 2014 in partnership with the EAUC, and since then colleges have completed 48 energy-efficiency projects valued at over £3.8 million. These projects are estimated to be saving further education establishments almost £900,000 on their annual energy bills, as well as reducing annual carbon emissions by over 4,300 tonnes.

The college fund is now in its third round, which has seen applications from a number of new further education colleges across England who had not applied in previous rounds. This includes an application of over £600,000 for LED lighting from one college which is set to benefit from annual savings of over £160,000 once installation is complete.

The fund has been used for both large and small projects, with the smallest application totalling £6,000. While these projects may not have as greater impact as a large scale LED lighting installation individually, they are nonetheless vital to the energy-efficiency agenda and can act as a first step towards a larger programme of works.

Craig Mellis, Programme Manager for Salix’s University and College funding, said – “It’s been hugely encouraging to see the appetite for energy-efficiency projects within colleges since we launched the College Energy Fund. Colleges such as City of Liverpool are now making huge financial and carbon savings from their projects, and funding is still available to support even more projects such as this.

We’re keen to hear from any colleges who are seeking assistance in developing energy-efficiency projects to see how we can help.”

Iain Patton, EAUC CEO, said “The EAUC is delighted to see so many college’s taking the initiative with the College Energy Fund and making a real difference, not only to their carbon footprint but also to the quality of their student’s experience. Having effective learning spaces is essential for students to learn the sustainability skills they need. We look forward to sharing more learning and knowledge with many more colleges that continue to benefit from this essential Fund”

Salix Finance has interest-free funding available for further education colleges on a continual basis and is looking to hear from colleges keen to undertake energy-efficiency projects.

For more information, please visit: salixfinance.co.uk/loans/Salix-College-Energy-Fund