National Trust
the brief
Adrian Fox, Lead Project Manager – Renewable Energy, National Trust, appointed Arrow to join the ‘Grow Your Own’ project team; a £30million sustainability scheme aiming to reduce the energy consumption of National Trust properties.
the project
As Europe’s largest conservation charity, the National Trust has acknowledged its duty to protect the special places it looks after, whilst taking a responsible approach to energy consumption.
The conservation group set 2020 targets to reduce its energy consumption by 15%, generate 50% of energy from renewable sources and inspire others to do the same, in a way that doesn’t compromise what makes each place special.
Upon completion of the project (in 2020), renewables will serve half the National Trust’s energy needs, primarily hydro (27%) and biomass (21%) with heat pumps (1%) and solar (0.5%), and there are plans to cut energy consumption by 20% over the same period.
“We have worked hand-in-hand with the National Trust to review its properties and help to build a business case for each as part of the ‘Grow Your Own’ scheme.
Our primary role was to provide technical support during concept and feasibility stages, adhering to specific criteria and methodology, and helping to identify technical, environmental and financial viability of a preferred renewable energy solution.”
the results
The National Trust has completed around 50% of the planned work so far and the remaining projects are on-track to be completed by the 2020 deadline.
There has already been a reduction of over 20% in fossil fuel usage, 800,000 litres of oil have been displaced and the renewables programme is on target to save in the region of 2,586 tonnes of CO₂e a year by 2020 (8% of the Trust’s carbon footprint).
“Arrow are a trusted and knowledgeable team and they’ve been of huge value throughout this project. The team has provided us with an accurate assessment of the most suitable renewable technologies and the best approach to take, which gives us a guarantee that we’re spending our budget in the right way.
They’ve not only offered support during the feasibility and design stages of the scheme, but they’ve also stepped in to act as project managers to ease internal resource strains and assure quality control during the instillation phases.”
