The National Cycling Centre in Manchester
The National Cycling Centre is carrying out upgrades to its venue including lighting and heating upgrades in a bid to save 240 tonnes of carbon emissions from the site every year.
The multipurpose venue, which has been home to British Cycling since 1994, includes an Olympic-standard indoor velodrome, a BMX arena, and outdoor mountain bike trials.
As part of commitments to meet the city-regions ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2038, Manchester City Council has invested in a range of energy efficiency measures on the site, including fabric improvements, LED lighting replacements, and the removal of gas heating through the installation of Air Source Heat Pumps.
In addition, £2.1m is being invested into the installation of Solar Car Ports to provide 900 kWp of energy.
The size of the National Cycling Centre along with its long operation hours means it consumes a significant amount of energy – and Manchester City Council is clean to explore opportunities for on-site renewable generation.
The Manchester Velodrome has been cited as the major catalyst for Britain’s cycling successes in track and road cycling and was described by Cycling Weekly as the “beating heart of British Cycling’s ascension to the top of world cycling” – and was once home to the five time Tour de France-winning UCI ProTeam Ineos Grenadiers (formerly known as Team Sky), between 2010 and 2019.
Working in parnership with Energy Systems Catapult and other Greater Manchester Local Authorities (Rochdale, Salford, Stockport and Wigan) £8.6m of match funding has been secured from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Unlocking Clean Energy in Greater Manchester (UCEGM) will deliver a number of renewable schemes across the city region and create a blueprint that can be replicated in other regions across the UK aiming for Net Zero carbon emissions.
In total UCEGM will see £17.2m invested across Greater Manchester, with £2.1m being invested in the delivery of 900 kWp of Solar Car Ports at the National Cycling Centre. This is anticipated to save 240 tCO2 emissions per annum.
