Leading councillors and officers at East Sussex County Council and school staff at Beacon College are celebrating after picking up the prize at the recent South East Renewable Energy Awards ceremony held in Brighton.
Biomass boilers are being installed at Beacon in a scheme that council officers believe is one of the biggest of its kind at a school in western Europe. Wood chips from local suppliers – sourced from sustainable woodland – will be used at Beacon as fuel for the boilers.
The scheme will reduce carbon emissions by 600 tonnes per year compared to the current oil fired system and save the school money on its fuel bills. The new boilers should be in operation by the end of the year.
Deputy County Council Leader, Tony Reid is delighted that the project at Beacon has picked up this prestigious award. “This scheme is a winner in so many ways. It's good for the environment; it saves the school money and helps the local economy by using wood chips from local suppliers.
“Climate change is now seen by many as one of the world's biggest challenges. Everyone has to play their part and if we all took small steps to help reduce carbon emissions it would make a big difference.
“The County Council is actively looking at all areas of its work to see how it can reduce its environmental impact and the scheme being implemented by our Property managers at Beacon College is a step in the right direction. The Council tax payer will also be the winner in the long run as we will not be reliant on other sources of fuel which have been subject to heavy price rises.”
Peter Swan, Headteacher at Beacon Community College, said: “This is an exciting venture and one that we are very pleased to be involved with. Not only will it yield financial savings in time but by being eco-friendly the project sets a good example to students and the community, and can be used as an educational tool to further raise students' environmental awareness and understanding”.
This is the second year running that the County Council has gained a prize at the South East Renewable Energy awards. Last year the Council was highly commended for an energy saving scheme at Park Mead School in Upper Dicker near Hailsham. The scheme uses a ‘ground source' heat pump to heat the new extension at the school.
In May this year the Council announced that its own ‘carbon footprint' – the amount of CO2 produced through energy use – had been reduced by 4,200 tonnes during 2005/06 and that emissions are now 11% lower than four years ago.
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