Lancaster University has taken a giant leap towards net zero, regularly generating 100% of its own electricity for the first time this spring through a new solar farm.
Designed to include an agrivoltaics field demonstrator – a facility to inform how farming and electricity production might be designed to work alongside one another – the solar farm is just one part of a major campus-wide drive to cut carbon emissions and invest in renewable energy sources.
This is the latest in a series of ambitious clean energy milestones which have already halved campus energy related emissions, opened research and teaching opportunities and effectively established a ‘living laboratory’ for low carbon energy transition.
Supported by a strong call from students, Lancaster University declared a Climate Emergency in 2020 and is fast becoming one of the highest producers of renewable energy within the UK higher education sector.
The University has already slashed its energy related carbon emissions from a peak of 25,900 tonnes CO2e in 2005 to 10,900 tonnes CO2e in 2025.
And together, the University’s wind turbine, new solar farm, and heat pump array and expanded district heat network (under construction) are expected to reduce University related energy emissions to net zero by 2030.
As well as implementing research-informed energy saving measures, the University has radically transformed the way it is powered and heated thanks to a series of other carbon-slashing investments including the UK’s largest heat pump energy centre, an east-west orientated solar farm designed to maximise electricity generation at peak morning and evening demand, and a 2.35 MW wind turbine providing up to 14% of campus electricity.
Researchers at Lancaster are already working with partners on technological advancements which could see solar farms working alongside agriculture, enabling farmers to produce both food and electricity while delivering positive impacts to nature and mitigating the biodiversity crisis.
The University hopes to inspire and inform the way other organisations could integrate cleaner energy infrastructure – from large businesses and NHS sites to towns and cities.
Facilitated by a dedicated visitor space, due to open in the new energy centre next year, the University is also keen to share its Net Zero energy transition insights with visitors, policy makers, industry and schools both here in Lancashire and globally.
Lancaster University Vice-Chancellor Professor Steve Decent said: “Taken together, these developments are enabling the University to become one of the UK’s HE sector’s largest producers of clean energy and to position itself as a hub for research, experimentation and a test bed for energy transition.”
Lancaster University Head of Estate Development (Project Delivery) Anna Cockman said: “Lancaster University has made major strides towards net zero and established one of the largest clean energy ‘living laboratories’ of its kind in Europe.
‘’We are now in a unique position to become a national demonstrator for the transition to net zero. Policy makers, businesses, students, researchers are already making use of these important facilities.” Director of Energy Lancaster, Professor Alona Armstrong said: “The research potential of Lancaster’s renewable energy infrastructure is really exciting.
‘’On solar alone we can explore challenges such as co-production of low-carbon electricity and food from the same land, potentially reducing land-use conflict between solar deployment and agriculture.”
The investments complement Lancaster’s research strengths that cut across a wide range of sustainability and low-carbon research areas including environmental sciences, nuclear engineering, battery materials and energy storage research, sustainable computing and technologies.
According to figures published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, Lancaster University is one of the highest producers of renewable energy of all UK universities.
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