Lancaster & Morecambe College launches Sustainable Energy Hub

Lancaster & Morecambe College has launched a Sustainable Energy Hub to deliver a range of new courses and to help embed green thinking across the wider curriculum. 

The facility features a fully-immersive Virtual Reality (VR) learning zone, a Cybersecurity lab, Computer Aided Design (CAD) suite and a Renewable Energy Demonstration Centre.

Alongside the Sustainable Energy Hub, new learning spaces have been developed with a robotics and electronics lab, hydrogen-ready plumbing workshop and an electric vehicle charging centre.

A launch event at the campus was attended by guests from Eden Project North, Lancaster City Council, CITB, Lancaster University and UCLan as well as representatives from local businesses, partner colleges and schools.

Ryann Williams, programme area manager for the Energy, Engineering and Construction (EEC) department, gave a tour of campus and explained how LMC have embedded sustainable and green skills across the wider curriculum, with the development of new courses including; Environment Responsibility in the Workplace, Electric Vehicle Charging, Domestic Retrofit and Heat Pump System Installation.

Attendees were invited to experience the immersive VR Igloo and witness the specially commissioned film Rising Tides in 360-degree vision. The film highlights the impact climate change and rising sea levels will have on our local coastline and communities, and has been developed in collaboration with the creative team at Sairo and is narrated by Jon Carter from the RSPB.

Maggie Cawthorn, sustainability project lead, said: "It was wonderful to see so many people attend the launch and to hear their feedback about the new facilities, which will bring practical benefits to all of our learners.

"The VR suite will allow them to experience a range of work-related scenarios, such as working at height training for wind-turbine engineering and investigating the impact of global warming on our local landscape.”

The Sustainable Energy Hub has been funded through the Strategic Development Fund (SDF) and the Walney Extension Community Fund.