The Lincolnshire Guide > News > Eco-saving reaps benefits for council and environment

Eco-saving reaps benefits for council and environment

Green thinking and eco products are set to save the City of Lincoln Council more than £100,000 per year.

The council already has numerous ecologically minded projects up and running, including solar panels on the roofs of buildings, recycling schemes and green technology at new buldings, like the Terrace and Think Tank.
A number of projects are also planned for the future, including combined heat and power at Yarborough Leisure Centre, voltage optimising and economic driving training for staff.

Green Festivities

One of the great successes has been the replacement of the city centre Christmas lights in 2008. New LED lights, purchased by the City Council with some help from Lincoln BIG, have reduced energy consumption from 24,525 kilowatt hours (kwh) in 2007/08 to 3,235 kwh in 2009/10 - a massive saving of £16,000 per year.
With the lights themselves costing £30,000, by the third year of use they will start saving money for the authority as well as benefiting the environment by saving energy.

Green buildings

The City Council has a policy of making any of its new buildings as environmentally friendly as possible. It makes sense to invest in new buildings now to reduce running costs and their environmental impact in the future.
Photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of the Terrace capture energy from the sun to generate electricity, which is used by businesses based there. These alone have generated 40,739 kwh since they were installed in April 2007 - a saving of £4,481 in electricity.

The award winning Think Tank - one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the region - uses ground source heat pumps to provide 70 per cent of its heating. This saves 220 mega watt hours of gas a year, which equates to around £11,000. The building also uses sun pipes to increase the amount of natural light and wind catchers to provide natural ventilation.

Work has started on a new sports pavilion at Yarborough Leisure Centre, with green credentials including a planted roof, air source heat pumps, solar thermal hot water and rainwater harvesting toilets, making this one of the most ecologically sound sports pavilions in the country.

Solar panels installed on the roofs of City Hall, the council's maintenance hub, Hamilton House, the Think Tank and the Terrace save the council £2,625 a year by heating all the water in the buildings.
On top of this, all electricity used at City Hall is purchased from a green supplier and recycling at City Hall and Hamilton House (the council's other main headquarters) will soon be extended to further reduce waste that goes to landfill. Currently, whenever possible, ink cartridges are sent for recycling or reuse and all City Council disposals, whether it be electronic equipment or server cabinets, are sent to a recycling company for processing.

Green Future

Officers are currently investigating combined heat and power to generate electricity at Yarborough Leisure Centre, which should save about £40,000 a year on electricity bills.

The council will soon be installing voltage optimisation devices to the electricity supplies at several buildings, including the Drill Hall, the two leisure centres, the crematorium and the Stamp End depot. The equipment restricts voltage to whatever is actually required by the building at any given time, reducing the pressure on electrical equipment so it lasts longer and reducing electricity consumption. These devices will reduce CO2 by 229.2 tonnes and save around £29,000 per year.

During 2010 the council's fleet drivers will be completing a smarter driving course to learn how to drive more efficiently. This will further reduce fuel consumption and will help to improve air quality for the city.

Kate Bell, Community Environment Coordinator at the City of Lincoln Council, said: "The council is working towards making the organisation greener, which has benefits for the environment and the authorities' finances. These measures, which vary from using top of the range green technologies to simply training our staff to drive in a more environmentally friendly way, can make a massive difference."

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