Wirral Met College has been named the winner of the Carbon Champion Award at this year’s Liverpool Echo Environment Awards.
The win was announced at a glittering awards ceremony last night (Thursday 2 May) at Isla Gladstone Pavilion in Stanley Park, Liverpool.
The ceremony recognise the best environmental businesses, schools, community projects and individuals to thank those who are making a difference and celebrate their magnificent achievements in Merseyside and beyond.
Wirral Met was named the winner for creating an innovative, low carbon 'Micro-turbine Hybrid Energy Centre' at its Twelve Quays Campus.
Highly efficient gas powered micro turbines now produce 80% of the campus’ electrical demand, minimising the need for electrical power from the grid.
The system uses phase-change thermal mass blocks with the turbines’ heat output to provide domestic hot water and heating for the entire campus. Electrical storage batteries further reduce the campus’ energy demand by smoothing the electrical energy curve, reducing peak demand. Carbon output is reduced by 200 tonnes pa and energy costs are predicted to reduce by £80,000 pa.
This is the first time anywhere in the world where this combination of technologies has been employed and is already exceeded expectations.