Coventry University has begun work to reduce its carbon emissions and meet its net zero carbon target by 2030 by installing hundreds of new solar panels.
The ambitious programme will see panels installed across campus alongside new efficient windows and a connection to the Coventry district energy network. This network is formed of a 6.6km underground heat system that transports waste heat from the city’s municipal incinerator to supply energy to major public buildings and, in doing so, has only one-sixth of the carbon emissions of natural gas.
The university was awarded £13 million in Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme funding in February 2024 to make a significant step towards achieving this goal. The grant will help Coventry University to reduce emissions from heating by a quarter as the university switches off gas boilers in exchange for the connection to the lower carbon district energy scheme.
The university enlisted the help of consultant Baily Garner to collaborate with specialist contractor Geo Green Power on the installation of the solar panels, which have been successfully mounted on the Sir Frank Whittle and Charles Ward buildings, with plans to cover the roofs of The Hub and the Alma building shortly.
Nearly 800 panels will be installed across university buildings. In total these will be approximately the same scale as around 90 typical home solar arrays. This is only the start of the decarbonisation work at Coventry University – in May 2025 pipework will be put in place that will allow 11 of the university’s city centre buildings to join the existing district energy scheme.
The project is due to be completed in April 2026 and is expected to save 95 tonnes in carbon reduction per year on campus once everything is installed as well as providing a real-life case study for students to see climate change mitigation in action.
