The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has made progress on its recent sustainability drive with two separate rooftop solar installations, to be installed under London’s RE:FIT programme.
More than 130 panels are to be fitted on LSE’s Bankside House and Columbia House buildings, comprising a 30kWp PV system on the former and a 4kW system on the latter which will be provided by Navitron.
Bankside House, located on the capital’s south bank, houses more than 600 students while Columbia House is where LSE’s mathematics, statistics and methodology departments are held.
The PV projects fall under a school-wide programme managed by Bouygues Energies & Services, which was awarded a seven-year energy performance contract through RE:FIT to help reduce its energy consumption and carbon emissions.
The overall aim of LSE’s programme is to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions by 18% in order to improve the school’s position on People & Planet Green League table.
“We are excited about working in partnership with the London School of Economics and our supply chain to deliver these guaranteed energy savings through the Mayor of London’s RE:FIT framework,” Keith Pedder, energy and engineering director at Bouygues Energies & Services, said.
London’s RE:FIT and RE:NEW programmes have been established in order to boost the retrofitting of energy efficiency measures on the capital’s buildings, particularly public buildings such as schools and hospitals.
But cuts to various green energy programmes have led to some concern over the two frameworks meeting their goals. A recent report compiled by the London Assembly revealed that millions of pounds worth of solar contracts agreed under the two would be placed at risk if proposed cuts to the feed-in tariff went ahead.
However last week Mayor of London Boris Johnson refuted suggestions that RE:FIT and RE:NEW would suffer due to the cancellation of the Green Deal. Just 106 Green Deal plans are in action in London – 1% of the UK’s total.
