The MOD's Climate Change and Sustainability Lead, Lt Gen Richard Nugee, has officially opened three new environmentally friendly buildings at Nesscliff Training Camp in Shropshire.
The accommodation blocks form part of a wider investment being undertaken by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO). The programme is being part-funded using money from a £200m investment to improve Armed Forces accommodation, which was announced by the Defence Secretary last summer. £45m is being invested in building new carbon efficient accommodation on the Defence Training Estate in a project called the Net-Zero Carbon Accommodation Programme (NetCAP).
Lt Gen Nugee was briefed on the programme, which will see over 40 new carbon efficient accommodation blocks, providing more than 1,900 bed spaces, installed across the country by DIO. The blocks are being built by Reds10, through DIO's contract with industry partner Landmarc Support Services.
The General also watched the demolition of some 1930s Nissen huts, which will be replaced with more of the NetCAP buildings in a second phase at Nesscliff later this year. He then toured the three completed buildings with Paul Ruddick, Reds10 Chairman, and cut the ribbon to officially open the new accommodation.
The first NetCAP building opened at Westdown Camp on Salisbury Plain last summer and has since been followed by other new carbon efficient blocks at Castlemartin Training Area in Pembrokeshire, Brunswick Camp in Surrey and Knook Camp, also on Salisbury Plain. Each new block is an iteration on the same design, with the Reds10 team looking at ways to reduce energy use and embodied carbon for each new version.
The three buildings at Nesscliff have improved on the Westdown Camp proof of concept and have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of –5, thanks to solar panels on the roof, air source heat pumps and a heat recovery system in the showers and drying rooms. This means they will be able to generate power for the site, reducing electricity costs. The team were also able to reduce embodied carbon by 30% at Nesscliff, as compared to the Westdown Camp prototype. SMART technology in the blocks allows Landmarc to monitor energy use, how the buildings are being used and if necessary, make changes remotely to all the NetCAP buildings. This further helps to reduce energy use and running costs.
Image: Image credit: Landmarc Support Services
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