The Revolving Green Fund is a government-funded scheme to help Universities reduce carbon emissions.
The UK government is now adding a further £34 million to the fund. The extra money marks the fourth round of the Revolving Green Fund, which has already provided £62 million to Universities for LED light projects. In the previous (third) round, the fund provided £21 million to 43 Universities.
On the Higher Education Funding Website (HEFCE) the fund’s administrator said:
LED lighting was the most popular type of project followed by pipework insulation.
More than half of the aforementioned 43 schools used the money to upgrade to LED light bulbs. Round 1 and 2 also involved a lot of LED work.
LED light bulbs use only a fraction of the electricity of traditional lighting, and thus reduce carbon emissions. They also last much longer, reducing replacement and maintenance costs.
The fund works as a ‘recoverable grant’ which means that, if the project makes savings, the money gets paid back. HEFCE has partnered with Salix Finance Ltd, a company that specialises in interest free loans for energy projects in the public sector.