RWE npower launches £1m energy centre

A £1m energy centre is to open later this year at Aberthaw Power Station in South Wales to provide a resource for schools and community groups. Aberthaw Centre for Energy […]

A £1m energy centre is to open later this year at Aberthaw Power Station in South Wales to provide a resource for schools and community groups.

Aberthaw Centre for Energy and Environment (ACE2) was commissioned by RWE npower, owner of the power station.

A two-metre high bank of pulverised fuel ash from the power station is being recycled to provide material for the foundations and furnace bottom ash from the station will be used to construct the centre’s car park.

The building will be insulated with recycled paper-mache material; heated by energy-saving air heat pumps mounted in a 15m high fin and cooled by ducts on the roof designed to catch the wind. Rainwater will be captured for use in the toilets.

Power station manager Phil Allen said: “We have wanted to provide this facility for the local community for a long time and it is fantastic to see it now under construction. We are looking forward to welcoming the first people to use the centre in the autumn. The building itself will be an example of sustainability.”

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