Two schools near Nantwich part of Govt Fusion21 scheme

Two primary schools near Nantwich are among just seven in the UK to share an £18.6m decarbonisation makeover in Fusion21-backed pilot scheme.

Acton Primary and Calverley Primary have been selected to take part in the Department for Education (DfE) led project.

It will see schools benefit from new low carbon heating as well as improvements to buildings to make the school more thermal efficient.

Energy bills and carbon emissions in the public and higher education sectors show schools and universities represent 36% of total UK public sector building emissions.

The work to reduce carbon emissions to make the schools in the pilot more energy efficient is now underway.

School buildings will be improved with new electrics, roofs and ceilings to new doors and windows amid a government drive to make educational buildings greener.

Contractors were appointed via Fusion21’s Decarbonisation and Heating & Renewables frameworks.

Oliver Mooney, Head of Category at Fusion21, said: “It is fantastic to have been involved in such an important Department for Education project and to support the schools who used our framework to appoint the contractors for these transformational, multi-million pound improvement works which will vastly improve the buildings, bring huge energy savings and carbon emission reductions and ensure pupils, teachers and parents are playing an important role in decarbonisation and Net Zero ambitions.”

The UK government has set targets in its strategy to 2050.

The Fusion21 project aims to help existing school buildings be adapted and new ones designed to respond to climate change and reduce emissions.

The pilot should provide alternative greener heating solutions and use results on how it can be scaled up to accelerate decarbonisation in the future.

Research found in 2019 schools were spending around £630m per annum on energy – with today’s figure expected to be much higher.

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will provide £1.425 billion of grant funding for public sector bodies to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures, including schools over the financial years 2022-2023 to 2024-2025.