Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council has awarded Kier a £25m contract to build a net-zero carbon teaching block.
The Hawthorn All-Through School project will include 27 classrooms and various staff and educational rooms.
It will also count with a new car park and pick up-drop off areas, as well as a designated bus drop off zone.
The new facilities are designed to meet net-zero carbon targets through the installation of onsite renewable energy sources. These include air source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels, alongside purchase of renewable electricity from an energy supplier.
The project is part of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s £75.6m education investment across the Greater Pontypridd area in partnership with the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme.
The contract has been procured through the South East & Mid Wales Collaborative Construction Framework (SEWSCAP). This is a collaborative construction scheme in Wales to provide school and public buildings construction works with a value between £250k and £100m.
“This project presents a unique opportunity to provide not one but three schools with state-of-the-art facilities which will be a significant asset to the community of Pontypridd for generations to come," said Jason Taylor, regional director at Kier.
“With the recently completed Ffynnon Taf Primary School just 10 minutes down the road using a nearby hot spring to heat its classrooms, this project further demonstrates our commitment to providing sustainable buildings in south Wales.”
Building carbon neutral schools in Wales
In 2022, Kier completed a project using thermal spring to reduce carbon emissions at Ffynnon Taf Primary School in Taff’s Well. It is now partially heated by the only thermal hot spring in Wales.
The heating system uses water from the spring, which has a temperature of 21°C, and passes through a series of heat pumps which heat the new building and the existing Victorian block.
The thermal spring system replaces the original gas heating and is expected to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by around 33 tonnes each year, as well as saving the school money.
Kier expects to complete works at Hawthorn All-Through School by 2025.
