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University powers up brand new solar farm

27 Aug 2025

From Monday, 1 September, we will begin powering our campus with clean, renewable electricity from a major new solar farm, marking a key milestone in our goal of becoming zero carbon by 2038.

Medebridge

When the farm in Medebridge is ‘switched on’, up to 65% of our electricity demand will now be met through renewable infrastructure.

Developed in partnership with leading UK clean energy Environmena, the project is part of a 10-year Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA), which was facilitated by EDF and support by Inspired PLC, the UK’s leading energy and sustainability advisor.

It is the UK’s largest solar CPPA with an educational institution, representing our long-term commitment to sustainability and energy resilience.

Professor Nalin Thakkar, Vice-President for Social Responsibility said: “Our new long-term solar power agreement is a landmark moment in our journey to zero carbon. By entering into this, we are directly supporting the development of new UK renewable energy while significantly cutting our own emissions. We remain determined to lead by example to help create a more sustainable future for generations to come”

Lee Adams, Chief Commercial Officer at Enviromena, added: “We’re incredibly proud to see Medebridge go live. It’s our largest and most complex project to date and a major step forward in the UK’s net-zero journey. By securing a long-term commitment with a top-tier academic institution, this project proves how large-scale renewables and corporate sustainability can align to deliver real impact.”

Development of the site

The construction of Medebridge started in April 2024. The site has over 104,000 solar panels across 175 acres (roughly the size of 70 football pitches) and will generate more than 72 GWh of electricity annually – 80% (58GWh) of which will be purchased directly by the University over the next decade.

Environmental benefits of the site:

  • It will reduce carbon emissions by 12,000 tonnes of CO2e each year – enough to power 21,000 homes.
  • It will also create a significant biodiversity net gain:
    • Enhancements have been made to existing hedgerows
    • Planting of native grassland and a wildflower meadow beneath and around the solar arrays will encourage nesting opportunities for wildlife and improved habitat connectivity.

Further information

For futher information about this, please see our press release.

The Medebridge partnership adds to our growing portfolio of environmental and sustainability initiatives from big changes, such as ending all investments in fossil fuels, and completing three zero carbon buildings, to the smaller ones, such as placing food waste bins in every University building, using peat free compost across campus and the Bee Cup initiative.

We were recently ranked in first place in the UK and Europe and second in the world for benefitting society and the environment by Times Higher Education for the third year running and was chosen to lead a pioneering global programme by United Nations designed to empower education’s role in the transition towards net zero.