Keele University has increased its renewable energy generation ten-fold during September - the equivalent of making its student accommodation rooms carbon neutral for the entire month, based on electricity usage - thanks to the installation of 12,500 solar panels on the new campus Low Carbon Energy Generation Park.

A total of 190,480kWh of renewable energy was generated from solar power alone during September, saving around 181 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions already in their first full month in operation.

Renewable energy generation will increase further in the very near future following the installation of two wind turbines on the multi-technology energy park, which also features an industrial-sized battery to store the generated energy.

The Low Carbon Energy Generation Park, which is managed and financed by EQUANS - part of the ENGIE Group - is just part of Keele’s institution-wide approach to sustainability and tackling the climate crisis. The new facility will generate up to 50% of the University’s campus electricity requirements from renewable sources, contributing to Keele’s pledge to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Keele was one of the first universities in the UK to declare a climate emergency in 2019 and has also published its Climate Action Framework principles, outlining its holistic approach to tackling the climate crisis.