Sheffield Univ. to fully depend on renewables to get electricity

28 / 05 / 2020

By Marwa Nassar - -

The University of Sheffield has taken a major stride towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions by signing new electricity contracts depending for the first time on 100 percent renewable.

The university signed the contracts with Bryt Energy – which is part of the Statkraft group; Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy and leading international hydropower company.

Under the contracts, electricity will be generated exclusively from wind, hydro and solar sources in order to supply all of the University’s buildings, including its central campus, residences and the University facilities on the Sheffield/Rotherham border including Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and the Nuclear AMRC.

Electricity accounts for over half of the University’s on-campus emissions, meaning the new supply will reduce net carbon emissions by up to 17,000 tons CO2 per year, helping the University on its journey to becoming carbon neutral.

Professor Koen Lamberts, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, said: “We are absolutely committed to addressing climate change via our research, our education and our institutional actions.”

“Switching to a 100 per cent renewable electricity contract is an important step in our sustainability work and follows our work to completely divest from fossil fuels and incorporate sustainable development into our education.”

“We look forward to working closely with our students and staff on the next phase of our sustainable development.”

The switch to renewable energy comes after close ongoing cooperation between the University and student groups to establish priorities for sustainability.

Harry Carling, Sheffield Students’ Union Development Officer, said: “It is so important that we have a University that values our student voice, and this is particularly important when talking about environmental issues. I’m exceptionally proud of our student-led Clean Energy Switch Campaign and Sustainability Committee, who have done an incredible job in making sure this issue has been pushed to the top of the agenda in the University. The University of Sheffield has set an example to the rest of the higher education sector, and organizations around the world. It is now the responsibility of others to follow.”

The University of Sheffield is committed to bringing together academic expertise to tackle global problems, and translates its leading research into real-world solutions that make its campus and city more sustainable.

As part of this, the University of Sheffield was one of the first universities in the country to completely divest from fossil fuel investments.

Last year, Professor Lamberts announced the university would be embedding Education for Sustainable Development into all courses over the next five years, helping students to understand how they could use their skills, experience and subject knowledge to have a positive impact in their future careers. Academics at the University are currently working on measures which will help it to become carbon neutral.