A topping out ceremony was held by Emcor to celebrate the completion of a £14 million energy centre designed to generate greener energy for the University of Liverpool.
The new energy centre is expected to cut the university's annual energy consumption by more than 13,000 MWh and CO2 emissions by more than 1,500 tonnes, equivalent to taking 477 cars off the road each year.

The new centre is part of a major construction project partnership between main contractor Emcor and the university.

The heating infrastructure project is made up of a new energy centre and the upgrade of the existing campus energy infrastructure, from initial planning, design development and coordination of all m&e construction through to commissioning and fit-out.

The energy centre will produce power for the university at a more economical rate than buying it commercially, and will supply heat to most of the university's buildings.

The installation of a gas powered CHP unit and associated combination boiler will provide electricity and primary high-temperature heat and enable effective re-use of high and low grade waste heat generated from production of the electricity. The project also aims to centralise the heating infrastructure of the entire university campus and will mean the decommissioning of the existing plant and demolishing the boiler house and its 42-metre chimney.

The construction project has become an on-campus educational experience for the university's civil engineering students who have been witness to a live construction environment and have liased with Emcor's project team. Students and staff can also view progress on a specially installed webcam

The Emcor project is teaching the students about issues such as environmental impact, noise level restrictions, ensuring operational continuity, planning constraints and sustainable construction methods to maximise materials for re-use and recycling. .