York University Campus

Vital Energi are undertaking a significant multi utilities scheme for the University of York across their Heslington campus as part of their impressive £500 million expansion plans. In order to maintain their high ranking status, the University is expanding its existing campus with additional facilities on a new site at the eastern edge of the City, creating new space for academic buildings, college accommodation, sporting and community facilities.

The site is being developed in phases over a period of 20 years and when complete will increase existing numbers of students by around 50%. In line with the Government’s carbon reduction targets, the University has developed a long term energy strategy for both the Heslington East and West sites. As part of this strategy, the University plans to generate at least 10% of the campus’s own energy demand from on-site renewable sources to ensure the long term sustainability of its energy supply and usage. One of the proposed solutions involves a centralised heating system using biomass as the fuel source produced locally from sustainable sources as an integral element of the heating scheme, generating heating and hot water across the entire campus, making a key contribution to achieving the University’s targeted reduction in carbon emissions.

The first step towards delivering this ‘single campus’ energy plan is an underground multi-utilities corridor linking the new 116-hectare Heslington East extension with the University’s existing Heslington West campus. As the UK’s market leader in designing, supplying and installing extensive community energy schemes, Vital Energi was appointed to deliver this project on the basis of the company's expertise in delivering quality, value for money district energy schemes, having successfully undertaken work of this nature for the University previously, combined with its specific in-house technical skills and expertise in managing complex energy projects. This multi-utilities corridor involves the services interconnection between the two sites for the delivery of electricity, hot water and communications services as well as gas, water and specialist telecommunications services to serve the Heslington East site. Over time, the district heating, electricity and communications networks will be extended to serve all new buildings on this new site.

This £3.5m scheme allows Vital Energi to showcase their project management skills on the implementation of such a comprehensive project. Responsible for all elements in relation to the interconnection infrastructure works, Vital Energi are supplying, installing and commissioning a network of above and below ground distribution pipework together with leak detection system distributing hot water between the two sites. Vital Energi’s project team are also charged with delivering electricity and communications services involving the installation of a 11kV cable network and associated pilot cables and ducts, ICT ducting and chambers , ICT optical fibre cables, HV electrical ducting with access chambers and all associated M&E works.

The scope of the works also includes the installation of new mains cold water and gas pipework as well as external telecommunications ducting and chambers facilitating new communications connections to serve the Heslington East campus. This is a challenging project with many interfaces involving Vital Energi’s project team working closely with the client and their team of consultants, contractors and sub-contractors as well as highways and Building Control to ensure that planning requirements are met satisfactorily.