Cheap as chips power reduces carbon emissions at University

Waste oil from canteens will be used to generate energy.

The University of Salford has installed a generator in one of its buildings which is run on the greasy leftovers from the student canteens.

The Vegawatt generator uses vegetable oil from the University’s catering outlets to provide power and hot water for Faraday House, which is named after a physicist who worked extensively on electricity.

Initial calculations show that Vegawatt will reduce the University’s energy bill, waste oil disposal costs and carbon dioxide emissions. Savings of around £2k per year and 36 tons of carbon dioxide are estimated.

Vegawatt is part of a major push currently being undertaken by the University to reduce its carbon emissions.  Another initiative sees solid food waste being composted – and applied to the campus greenery.

Along with other developments across the campus such as achieving Fairtrade status, the University has risen to 37^th place in the annual Green League table of universities and even more plans are being made to improve this standing.

Vegawatt is the latest development, and works when waste oil is poured into the system which filters the oil of its food residuals and cleans it. The oil then goes through a combustion process using heat from the exhaust system. This oil is moved into a tank to fuel a modified diesel generator. Heat from the engine’s coolant is used to warm the building’s hot water.

Rebecca Bennett, Environmental and Sustainability Officer, said: “Vegawatt is a first for a UK university and we’re very pleased to have it powering Faraday House in time for winter.  By adding up a large number of initiatives like this we can make a sizeable dent in our carbon footprint.

“We just have to make sure our students keep using the canteen!”