Northampton's university ranked as one of the best for renewable energy, according to new study

A study looking into different universities' commitments to sustainable energy has revealed Northampton’s local educator as one of the best.

The University of Northampton was ranked within the top tier of the 105 universities tested, as it ticked the boxes for all three categories, which are renewable schemes, installations and tariffs.

Across the campuses, the university has a biomass boiler and solar panels installed, is on a ‘green energy’ tariff with EDF and has plans in place to install and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) on the Waterside Campus, which would generate electricity and useful heat.

According to Uswitch, the company that carried out the study by submitting freedom of information requests to see which establishments are making moves to become less reliant on fossil fuels, these features mean the university is doing better than 50 percent of other UK universities.

A spokesman for the University of Northampton said: “It’s welcome news to see university featured prominently in the USwitch study, particularly since we are committed to a range of environmentally sustainable practices and beliefs.

"From a carbon management plan to our woodchip biomass fuelled Energy Centre – the ‘Power Tower’ of which is now a landmark in the town – providing heating across Waterside, it’s woven into our DNA to make a significant contribution to how green Northampton is.”

Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at Uswitch, added: “It’s great to see that some universities are going above and beyond when it comes to sustainability.

“Having renewable installations on campus and schemes in place to produce more of their own renewable energy shows that they are leading by example in trying to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.

“While not every university will have the same financial resources to generate their own power, it’s good to see that they are willing to “go green” by choosing a renewable energy tariff from their supplier.”

The study also found that the university is keen to procure green gas in the future to further its reliance on renewable energy.

To find out more about the study and see how other universities rated, visit the Uswitch website.

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