Electric vans the answer for a university charged with tackling carbon emissions
Dundee University is driving into the future after taking delivery of two electric vans.
Fleet manager Colin Girdwood and environment officer Trudy Cunningham in one of the vans.
- By Jonathan Watson
- Published in the Courier : 17.11.11
- Published online : 19.11.11 @ 09.39am
The new arrivals will be seen on campus and the surrounding streets as the institution attempts to cut its carbon footprint.
Until now security and catering services at the university have relied on diesel vans to conduct their business. It is claimed the introduction of the electric vans, which emit no CO2, will represent a carbon saving of almost five tonnes every year.
Although the cost of fuel continues to hurt many families and businesses across the country, Trudy Cunningham, environment and sustainability officer at Dundee University, insists that purchase of the vehicles has been driven by environmental concerns.
She said: ''The main reason for buying the vans was environmental rather than cost. It does only cost around 20p for a full charge but it could be cheaper than that as we have our own power plant.
''The old vans were doing about 17,000 miles a year so this will make a significant carbon saving. The only problem that we have with the vans is that they're so quiet people can't hear them.''
The new vans arrived in time for Green Week — five days of events encouraging students and staff at the university to become more ecologically aware.
Events took place across the campus this week, backed by the Dundee University Students' Association and the university's Enterprise Gym.
Colin McNally, director of campus services, said the vans, along with the construction of a thermal heat store to recover energy from power generators on campus, was a major investment in the university's green credentials.
''We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and these initiatives are steps in the right direction which demonstrate our commitment to making the university as environmentally friendly as it possibly can be,'' he said.
12.22pm - 19.11.2011 Concerned Citizen - Forfar, Scotland Report This
Shame so many graduates finish their course to be destined for the same shelves they were stacking pre graduation as the university "isn't a careers service" and "people don't come here to better their job prospects". Perhaps instead of a merger, they should have replaced both "unis"
09.12am - 21.11.2011 mark - Dundee, scotland Report This
but they do produce CO2, they use electricity for power - and the electricity comes from a coal station... I wonder what the universities contribution to global warming is given the whole of scotland only puts out about 0.2% of the worlds CO2...
01.36pm - 21.11.2011 Cory Douglas Campbell - Maryfield, Scotland Report This
Great news and about time! Once again the Univesity of Dundee leads the way for the rest to follow.The entire city centre area should be made an electric car/bus only zone. Dundee needs to lead the way with projects like this & the V&A, not lag behind the rest of the UK in the darkness of ignorance
02.56pm - 21.11.2011 Stewart - Dundee, UK Report This
@concerned citizen - Dundee University has the highest graduate employment in Scotland. More graduates from Dundee go on to get graduate jobs than any other university in Scotland!
08.55am - 22.11.2011 Scott Ewan - Dundee, Scotland Report This
@Stewart. If you subtract the Medical and Dental school figures then Dundee falls below the national average.
Add a comment