University of Manchester inks pact with clean energy company Enviromena for 65% of its electricity demand

Under the Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (cPPA), the University is to purchase 80% of Medebridge’s total annual generation capacity (58 GWh) for the next decade, lowering University carbon emissions by 12,000 t/co2 every year - enough to power 21,000 homes.

The University of Manchester has signed a landmark deal with leading UK clean energy company Environment. Under the pact, the university will get 65% of its electricity demand from Enviromena brand-new solar farm based in Medebridge, Essex.

Lee Barlow, Finance & Administration Manager, and Project Lead at The University of Manchester, said: “After nearly three years of rigorous procurement and negotiations, we are proud to announce this landmark agreement, which reinforces our commitment to sustainability whilst delivering best value to our students and stakeholders, in the form of price certainty and supply stability.

“The journey has been marked by unprecedented challenges in the energy and renewables sector, first with the 2022 energy crisis, and later complicated by geopolitical events in Eastern Europe. Securing this 10-year cPPA despite such adversity is a huge accomplishment and holds special significance as we celebrate the University’s bicentennial year.”

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After completion, Medebridge Solar Farm, across 175 acres of low-grade agricultural land, will comprise 104,000 solar panels. The Solar Farm site will create a significant biodiversity net gain.

The agreement is called the Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (cPPA). It commits the University to purchase 80% of Medebridge’s total annual generation capacity (58 GWh) for the next decade, reducing University carbon emissions by 12,000 t/co2 every year - enough to power 21,000 homes.

Geography labs awarded Gold LEAF certification for sustainability and efficiency action

The Geography Laboratories at the University of Manchester have been certified as operating to a Gold standard in the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF).  

“As a Geography lab, where much of our work is environmental study, we feel it’s important to lead by example in respect of efficiency and environmental impact. Through the audit we’ve worked through our Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to see where we can improve our reduction, reuse and recycling of chemicals and equipment and tested methods where we felt it could be appropriate, and in turn, we’ve found where we can improve the efficiency of processes," commented Jon Yarwood, Geography Laboratory Technician.  

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