MyGlasgow News

Combined Heat and Power system will help University hit CO2 targets

Work gets underway early in the New Year on a major University project to install a new, district heating system driven by a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) source.

The new CHP system will help the University reach its environmental target of a 20% reduction in carbon emissions. It will also provide electricity back-up, with the ability to generate two megawatts of power.

The University Court agreed the project earlier this year. It will affect a large part of the Gilmorehill campus. The current heating system is more than fifty years old and has reached the end of its life.  The risk of regular system failures is high with the potential to disrupt teaching and research.

The initial preparatory works will start in the early part of 2014 to install temporary plant to serve the buildings on the existing system.  This will let the University provide continuity of heating while the existing central steam plant is taken out of service and the new CHP constructed. The temporary plants will be five fairly large units located within industrial ship's containers either on articulated trailers or at ground level. These will be sited at key locations to serve the buildings currently fed by steam.

The project is expected to start in earnest in Spring 2014 with completion by the end of 2015. The temporary boilers will be moved into place in January 2014 and are likely to be in situ for about a year. Some parts of the work can only be completed during the summer, when the heating systems are not in use.

The temporary units will use up some car parking spaces. They may bring increased levels of noise and fumes. There will also be some operational challenges such as refuelling as they will be oil fired.  From time to time they will also need to be serviced, maintained and repaired. Every possible step will be taken to reduce the impact of these on the University community. We will make them as safe as possible and maximum effort will be employed to have these units removed as soon as possible.

A video with more information and interviews with project lead Vice Principal Frank Coton and Estates and Buildings' Robert Kilpatrick will be featured in the next Campus eNews.

Wellcome Trust Director visits MVLS

The Director of the Welllcome Trust, Professor Jeremy Farrar OBE, visited the University of Glasgow late last month. During his visit, as guest of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, he met the Principal and senior members of the College. There was lso a Q and A session with invited staff members from research institutes and schools.

Professor Farrar was Director of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam from 1996 until earlier this year. His research interests are in infectious diseases and tropical health, and include emerging infections, infections of the central nervous system, influenza, tuberculosis, dengue, typhoid and malaria. He has contributed to over 450 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and serves on several World Health Organization advisory committees.

He was appointed OBE in 2005 for services to Tropical Medicine, and he has been awarded the Ho Chi Minh City Medal from the Government of Vietnam, the Oon International Award for his work on H5N1 avian flu, Frederick Murgatroyd Prize for Tropical Medicine by the Royal College Physicians and the Bailey Ashford Award by the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and chairs the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium, a global initiative to share data about emerging diseases that could become epidemics or pandemics.

Boost for ACTIVATE course

A further 24 people from North Glasgow have successfully completed the community development ACTIVATE course which is supported by ng homes and delivered by the University of Glasgow. The main aim of ACTIVATE is to give local people active in their communities an opportunity to refelct on what they do and why they do it in order for them to be more effective. You can find out more here: http://pobs.cc/xr06

Booksellers John Smith offer festive discount

Booksellers John Smith say that once again they are giving staff an extra Christmas discount on purchases. They are increasing the normal discount from 10% to 20% on all books not already discounted, by using a voucher. They have produced a voucher that staff can use to get the extra discount.

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First published: 4 December 2013