Kew Gardens has begun a project to decarbonise the Jodrell laboratories and adjacent glasshouses at its London site.
The Jodrell and Melon Yard buildings are currently served by three dual-fire oil/gas burners in a separate, below-ground plant room which provide heat and hot water. They will be replaced with a bespoke air source/water source heat pump plant. In addition the project will see installation of new solar PV array at roof level, on the Wolfson Wing and Jodrell building roofs. It will require an upgraded 1.2kVA supply including new transformer main cable and intake position to meet the needs of the project, as well as a new stand-by generator to cover the increased electrical load of the buildings.
The new system is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 633t per year and increase Kew’s onsite generation of renewable electricity by 38,612 kWh per year.
In its sustainability strategy RBG Kew said its operations and activities would be climate positive by 2030.