23 Nov 2007
The Minister of State at the Scotland office David Cairns today visited Napier University's Scottish Energy Centre to see the pioneering work the centre is undertaking to support the UK's climate change objectives in the field of energy efficient buildings.
Cairns commended the University's expertise in testing renewables technologies for buildings and was particularly impressed by its highly regarded expertise in the area of thermal image surveys.
He said: "As around 52% of the UK's energy consumption is attributable to buildings, what I have seen here today has tremendous potential for reducing the UK's and Scotland's carbon emissions from buildings"
Following his tour of the projects, including an array of solar panels fitted to the University's Merchiston Campus building with the support of UK government funding, he added: "This University is regarded by industry as one of the top two in its field and what I saw today gives me confidence that Scotland's higher education sector is well placed to exploit the opportunities that addressing climate change brings and play a key role in mitigating its effects."
Napier University Principal & Vice-Chancellor Prof Joan K Stringer commented: "We are delighted to host a visit from the Minister of State and have the opportunity to show him first-hand Napier's dedication to the research and innovation of renewable energies. Our commitment to this area is evident by the excellent work undertaken by our Scottish Energy Centre and a range of other initiatives in this field currently being conducted at Napier, including the soon to be launched Biofuel Research Centre."
Note to Editors
The Scottish Energy Centre is a portal for Research, Knowledge Transfer and Expert Services activity in the energy sector at Napier University. Founded in 1984 as a conduit for expert services to meet the needs of local industry; the portfolio of activities has expanded to help support commerce and industry in meeting the challenges of recent energy price increases and government initiatives and legislature
Mr Cairns will arrive at the University's Merchiston Campus at 14..00 for a meeting with Prof. Robin Mackenzie (Vice Principal), Dr. Sean Smith, (Associate Dean, Knowledge Transfer) and John Currie (Director, Scottish Energy Centre). Following that he will see examples of the research projects including
· 17.5kWilowatt Solar PV facade (Grant funded by DTi)
· Micro wind generation test facility (4 turbines installed and being tested for the urban environment)
· Integrated Collector Solar Water Heater (low cost design optimised for UK climate)
· Infra Red Thermography (building fabric heat loss research and analysis)
· Fuel Cell Research
Contact:
Clark Dunn, 0131 244 9053/ 07917 084371
Nathaniel Mumford, 0207 270 6875/ 07771 938878