Aberystwyth University has been a leading light on carbon reduction in the higher education sector. Over the past 10 years the University has reduced its CO2 emissions by 40%. Central to this has been an investment of £2.9 million in a solar array which supports the institution’s target to meet 25% of its electricity consumption through renewables by 2030.
We met with Dewi Day, the University’s Environmental and Sustainability Advisor, to find out more about the Aberystwyth’s decarbonisation journey.
How is your carbon reduction strategy progressing?
In 2019 the University declared a climate emergency. At that time, we aligned ourselves with the Welsh Government public sector target to be carbon neutral by 2030. We then published the University’s Towards Net Zero 2030 strategy in 2023. That outlined that whilst achieving net zero by 2030 remained our ambition it would be incredibly challenging to reach this. The strategy set out key decarbonisation projects and changes to operations.
Our main challenge has been that the University’s budgets tend to be set annually based on income costs within any given year. In common with the whole higher education sector the University is financially constrained and this makes it difficult to plan a full capital programme up until 2030. Despite this we have done a lot of work on reducing energy demand, energy efficiency projects and implementing solar energy. We are well on our way but we do face hurdles to deliver on major capital projects over the next few years.
Why did the University decide to invest heavily in solar as opposed to other renewable energy sources?
We considered wind but this was ruled out due to constraints around distance to residential properties. The business case for the solar farm was four years in the making. Around 25% of energy consumption at the Penglais campus is now met by the solar array. The reason we invested in solar was the guaranteed energy savings far outweighing the loan repayments. We have guaranteed generation levels and a guaranteed pay back of less than nine years. It was also hugely beneficial that we secured gained external finance from Salix for 90% of the project via a zero-interest unsecured loan.
We looked into exporting to the grid but this would have required a massive upgrade with significant costs and timescales. We think about 15% of annual generation is lost to curtailment so we are looking into whether we can utilise that as free power at the University.
What are the benefits of the Building Energy Management System (BEMS) you have implemented to your plans to your built estate?
We have done a lot of work around optimising our heating using our Building Energy Management System. We have set time clocks to change temperature set-backs and reduce core heating hours. In addition, we no longer have weekend heating as barely anyone uses our buildings then. We have also reduced our heating in 24/7 computer spaces in three different locations to match usage in these areas.
Throughout our buildings we have dropped target temperature points to around 19-20 degrees. We rolled this out in office areas first and are now extending this to residential areas. We have done this in small increments and, overall, this is working out well. The outcome has been significant – we are saving around half a million pounds a year in gas costs and emissions are down by 1,283 tonnes since 2019/20.
What role will heat decarbonisation play and how are you tackling this challenging area?
This is the biggest challenge for us as a university. We identified major heat decarbonisation projects in our net zero strategy but there is no financial return on large scale heat decarbonisation. Moreover, such projects incur high capital costs with limited return on investment. External finance for help is minimal in Wales unlike in England where there are a few different funding schemes.
We appreciate we cannot achieve net zero without significantly tackling heat decarbonisation so we are currently focussing on some quick wins. We are working to reduce gas demand and make improvements to heating controls. Next steps will be moving a significant amount of gas heating to electric heating.
How has TEC supported your decarbonisation journey?
TEC developed the £50m landmark green energy deal which involves 20 universities, including ourselves, in an aggregated PPA agreement. TEC’s input was incredibly helpful to all the institutions involved. The PPA doesn’t formally sit in our net zero strategy as the Welsh government doesn’t include market-based decarbonisation approaches within its net zero definition. However, it is an important part of our wider emissions reduction work. We aim to get 25% of our total energy demand met by renewables so that still means we will get around 75% from grid electricity.
I think the most beneficial part of being a TEC member is the opportunity it presents for us to learn from one another. At Aberystwyth, we work with the Environmental Association of University Colleges (EAUC) and I chair the Welsh group. It is a useful forum to bounce ideas and learn from each other in a non-competitive way.
How have you engaged students and staff with Aberystwyth’s ambitious carbon reduction plans?
We communicate all approaches in relation to decarbonisation and net zero. We also have an engaged sustainability forum with staff across different departments attending. In addition, we run campaigns on specific issues such as single use plastics and travel. Within Scope 3 procured goods and services is the big one and we are in discussion with our procurement team about embedding sustainability into the procurement process.
What help could the Government give to the higher education sector to support decarbonisation?
We really need more incentives to decarbonise heat in the Welsh higher education sector. There is often very little financial benefits for heat decarbonisation but if we are to meet our net zero ambitions, we must do more in this area. On a positive note, we have hugely benefited from the Welsh Government Energy Service who have helped with desktop studies, modelling and independent project support. This has been a huge enabler to develop business cases to get funding.
There is optimism for some indirect benefits from the new Government in London. They have expressed ambitious plans to decarbonise the energy sector by 2030. They have also indicated that there will be reforms in the planning system, which will be devolved in Wales. These improvements would greatly help the net zero transition in the higher education sector in Wales.
