蘑菇短视频

Research and consultancy

The Energy Policy Group (EPG) is the only academic research group in the UK focusing on enabling government-level policy and regulatory change that is essential to transforming the system by taking a holistic approach to integrating operations. We’re an established thought leader in this sector with the evidence and ideas essential to enabling transformation. Our research has already been translated into recommendations adopted by energy policymakers.

The Centre for Energy and the Environment (CEE) are an interdisciplinary team who conduct applied research and consultancy into sustainable buildings, energy and environmental policy and the impacts of climate change on the built environment. Formed in 1977, we have extensive experience of work with the commercial sector, local government and research councils. The CEE works alongside public sector organisations in the South West under a partnership known as the South West Energy and Environment Group (SWEEG). Experience, information, research and technical advice are shared between its members on energy and climate change issues. 

Heating decarbonisation on campus

Most of our existing buildings rely on fossil fuel heating that add to our emissions. Our Infrastructure Decarbonisation Masterplan is an evolving programme to deliver projects focussed on carbon reduction relating to energy use across our estates and transitioning away from fossil fuel heating and has completed a substantial amount of work to progress the decarbonising of our heat network. It sets out a plan to 2040 to fully decarbonise energy consumption and includes sections on interventions, tested scenarios and their outcomes, and an implementation plan (sections 6 to 9).

This figure illustrates the carbon emissions for each scenario over time compared to the University target line.? 
 
Scenario 1 will benefit from the decarbonisation of the grid until about 2025, however, as gas consumption will remain high, so will carbon consumption.? 
 
Scenario 2 follows the University's carbon targets until about 2030. As the electric boilers have higher energy usage than ASHP emissions and no fabric improvements are made, emissions remain higher, even as the grid decarbonises.?

Scenarios 3 and 4 have similar carbon trajectories and meet the University's targets until 2034. 

Scenario 5 meets the University's target by utilising energy produced by a large-scale PV farm. This could also be achieved by purchasing 100% renewable energy. Scenario 5 also has lower carbon emissions from 2029-2035 by maintaining the existing renewables Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA). 

The University is also increasing on-campus renewable energy generation through programmes to install additional ground-based and roof-mounted PV and planning permission has been received to install a wind turbine to supply energy for our Penryn campus. 

Oil-fired heating removal In 2024/25 and in advance of the implementation of the future district heat network, we have replaced Harrison building’s oil-fired heating with natural gas, removing 60,000 litres of stored oil tanks.  

Cornwall House air source heat pumps Following a successful government grant funding bid, the heating source in the Cornwall House building and swimming pool has been switched from gas to electricity. The new air source heat pumps were completed in August 2024 and will save over 160 tonnes of CO2 compared to heating the building and swimming pool with fossil fuels – that’s equivalent to heating 60 domestic households.

Biosciences Greenhouses heat pumps The heating for our Biosciences Research Greenhouses was also converted from fossil fuel heating to heat pumps, funded by a successful grant bid. The new heat pumps were completed in February 2024 and will save over 20 tonnes of CO2 each year. 

Duryard PV array During the summer of 2023/24 we connected over 1,800 new ground-mounted photovoltaics (PV) to our electricity network on university land close to Duryard Halls of Residence. The new solar panels are operational and will generate over 1,000 MWh of renewable energy per year – equivalent to providing electricity to over 250 domestic households – and save 225 tonnes of CO2 per year. 

Roof-mounted PV at Streatham During 2024/25, we have increased our overall annual solar generated energy supply to over 2,760 MWh, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and supporting our net zero targets. The installation of the solar panels on the Physics Building completed in March 2025 and is expected to generate 430 MWh of clean energy per year (equivalent to providing energy to over 90 domestic households) and saving 90 tonnes  of CO2 per year. In May 2025, we completed installations on two additional buildings: Richards Building (St Luke’s) and Holland Hall. More installations are planned for 2025/26.

Penryn wind turbine The wind turbine project at Treleiver Research Field has made steady progress in 2024/25, with strong public support throughout. Planning permission has now been secured and the grid connection process is underway. The installation of the 1 MW turbine is scheduled to begin in late 2026, with commissioning expected by Easter 2027. Once operational, the turbine is projected to  generate approximately 2.8 GWh of renewable electricity annually. 

The Glasney Eco-Block Pilot Project, which began with Glasney Parc Block A, is the first of its kind and sets out to explore the feasibility of implementing an air source heat pump system, with future upgradability to district heating. The installation began summer of 2025 with Glasney Parc Block A as we start to replace gas boilers and install a standalone air source heat pump and PVs onto the roof of the building. It is supported by a £55,000 grant from the Salix Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, contributing toward the £114,000 total project cost.

SERSF / Stella Turk heat decarbonisation Decarbonisation efforts on Penryn Campus have taken a significant step forward with the completion of the SERFS and Stella Turk Replacement Boiler Project in May 2025. This major milestone involved replacing five gas boilers with four air source heat pumps, now fully operational and supplying both hot water and heating to the two buildings. 

Other on-campus energy efficiency measures

LED lighting programme - Our lighting replacement programme with LED luminaires is continuing to deliver energy savings and is planned for completion in 2029 when the programme will deliver a total annual carbon saving of 650 tonnes each year.

Metering review - The first phase of the metering improvement works – which included a metering survey – has been completed. The outcomes will inform the next phase, which will involve metering replacements and commissioning. The overall aim is to enhance real-time data availability and enable better monitoring of our consumption.

In addition to building decarbonisation, the University is undertaking multiple programmes of work to manage its scope 3 emissions and embed sustainability into University culture: 

• Commuting Sustainable Transport Strategy 2024-2030
• Procurement?- prioritising decarbonisation of our supply chain and embedding 20% weighting for sustainability into tenders
• Investments - The University Investment Policy excludes investments in entities that are involved in the extraction of fossil fuels.
• Waste - see strategy below Circular Economy and Sustainable Resource Management Strategy 2024-2030
• Water -? Water Resilient Policy?in place with Water Management Strategy in development
• Travel Policy?- ensuring that travel for work and study is undertaken in accordance with our values and to meet wider University targets and objectives relating to sustainability, cost, compliance, equality, diversity, and safety requirements.?
• Research Footprinting Tool - developed in-house to help identify areas of high GHG impact
• Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF)?- reducing environmental impact of laboratories 

District Heating Project

We’re collaborating with partners in 蘑菇短视频 to explore opportunities for offtake from a major low-to-zero carbon heat project being delivered by 1Energy. The initiative could supply sustainable heat to businesses and organisations across the city via a 20km network of underground pipes, connected to an energy centre powered by air source heat pumps and other low carbon technologies. In 2024, we received a Low Carbon Skills Fund grant of £982,000 to develop the full business case. We are using this to decide on the most effective options for removing fossil fuels from our heating network.

Energy Efficiency Services for Industry

Our , which ran from July 2023-March 2025 provided services to local industry across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to understand their environmental impact, improve their energy efficiency and reduce their emissions through use of clean energy. The project provided 524 hours of decarbonisation consultancy to 42 companies. Following energy efficiency assessment, each business received a detailed carbon footprint and bespoke decarbonisation plan, highlighting the areas where they could make the most significant emissions reductions. This work has removed at least 419,032 tonnes of CO2 emissions – the equivalent of 689,197 return flights between London and New York.

In addition, over 145 hours of training was delivered across online courses and in-person workshops and events.