University Of Warwick champions CHP plant with Dalkia 13 June 2014

Following completion of two more CHP (combined heat and power) plant projects – replacing one engine with a 400kWe unit on the main campus and installing another 400kWe on its Gibbet Hill campus – the University of Warwick is reporting ongoing success.

The university, which has been using onsite co-generation centres since 2001 – working with specialist Dalkia (part of Cogenco) – says its CHP plants have not only improved energy its performance but also underpinned its commitment to green efficiency.

Since the installation of its first CHP plant, the establishment has invested more than £4m into the roll-out of CHP technology and district heating.

Today, it runs with a 4.6MW CHP capacity that supplies the 292 hectare campus with power and hot water through a district heating network, saving the university an estimated 5,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

Joel Cardinal, head of energy & sustainability at Warwick, explains that its gas-fired CHP plants recover the waste heat produced during power generation, and distribute it as hot water to teaching and lecture facilities as well as 6,200 bedrooms across a undergraduate and postgraduate campus residences.

"Thanks to the CHPs, we have a more reliable and secure energy supply with a better environmental performance," comments Cardinal.

"Because our plant is onsite, we are also less dependent on energy imports and, what's more, our use of primary fossil fuel consumption is considerably lowered, as we fully recover heat," he adds.

Later this year the University will open a further 4MWe energy centre. An additional two engines will then bring the total CHP capacity to 8.6MWe.

Brian Tinham

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