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University turns to city's rubbish to power campus

David Gregory-KumarWest Midlands science, environment, and rural affairs correspondent, Coventry
BBC A man wearing glasses and a suit with a white shirt is looking directly at the camera. He has grey hair and is cleanly shaven. He is standing indoors, with the background blurred.BBC
The switch away from gas to incinerator power could not come at a better time, according to pro-vice-chancellor Dr Clive Winters

A university has decided to switch off much of its gas-powered heating and hot water, but it won't be going cold.

For the 11 buildings on Coventry University's campus are now to be powered using energy from the city's rubbish instead.

Connecting the university will save money and and reduce its carbon footprint by the same amount a year as if they took 800 cars off the road.

Its focus is on a boiler room beneath the Sir Frank Whittle Building, where the past has been decommissioned and the future is up and running.

Two massive red commercial gas boilers, about the size of two caravans and now switched off and awaiting removal, have been replaced by heat exchangers about the size a domestic fridge freezer.

They will be using energy produced by burning 900 tonnes of the city's rubbish every day at the nearby waste-from-energy plant, what we used to call an incinerator.

Two red commercial gas boilers are surrounded by a series of insulated pipework which is silver in colour. There is white writing on the boilers with the word Hoval.
Two large red commercial gas boilers have been switched off and are awaiting removal

Mark Anderson, from Bring Energy, explained to me how the new system works.

"All the refuse is brought here and burned and that produces steam." he said.

"We take the steam and it goes to a heat exchanger and then we put it into hot water, which we pump up into the city centre."

A man wearing a white hard hat and safety goggle. The hat has black writing with the words Bring Energy on it. The man has a stubbly beard. He is smiling for the photograph and is standing indoors.
Mark Anderson says the new system uses refuse which is burned to produce steam

This is Coventry's city centre district heating system, which already provides heat and hot water for places like the cathedral.

Given current issues in the Middle East, this switch away from gas to incinerator power could not come at a better time, according to pro-vice-chancellor Dr Clive Winters.

A man wearing glasses and a high visibility outfit is operating machinery which can be seen through a window. It appears to be picking up a pile of rubbish. The man is using a joystick to manoeuvre the machine.
The move will save money and also cut carbon emissions, according to those behind the scheme

"Clearly with things going on in the Middle East at the moment, with the energy crisis we need a solution that's more stable that gives us financial stability as well," Winters said.

It is a reminder that changing how we heat our homes and hot water can have a big impact on both the environment and long term our bills.

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