Northumbria University has become the second UK university to complete the installation of a new solar array in time to beat the government's subsidy cuts, it revealed yesterday.
The new 438 panel rooftop array, which is expected to generate 95,000 kWh of clean energy each year, was installed in time for the higher subsidy tariff rate. The installation is set to save over £9,000 in electricity costs and 40 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, while the university also expects to generate an additional income of £8,500 per year by selling surplus electricity from the panels back to the National Grid.
Northumbria University told BusinessGreen that the installation was moved forward from a planned February deadline to a December deadline in order to have access to the higher Feed-in Tariff (FiT) rate before it was cut. Earlier this week the University of Brighton confirmed it had also installed an array of solar panels on its roofs in "record time" as it also rushed to beat the subsidy cuts.
Accreditations under the old subsidy scheme were halted on January 15. Under the new scheme, which formally takes effect on February 8, FiT payments are up to 63 per cent lower.
Northumbria University has a goal to reduce its carbon emissions by 32.5 per cent compared to 2005 levels by 2020. Damon Kent (pictured), director of campus services at the university, said it is now saving over 50 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. "[W]e are committed to environmental sustainability to ensure that we are leading by example and encouraging new ways of thinking in our student and staff populations," he said in a statement.
The university has also refurbished an existing 40kW array on its Northumberland Building, which was the first building in the UK to be fitted with a solar façade more than 20 years ago. The panels have been fully cleaned and repaired and are expected to generate electricity for another two decades.
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