STA POOL PLANT – DECARBONISATION
Net Zero Decarbonisation – One Step At A Time With net zero decarbonisation set to be one of the hottest topics of conversation at this year’s SPATEX, Luke Griffiths, STA’s Technical Qualifications and Business Development Manager spoke to swim school owner Russell Sparks who in 2022, just 12 months after building and opening the Swim Centre in Wales, faced crippling energy costs. Here Russell shares his story of why this became the catalyst for the start of his swim school’s decarbonisation journey
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eveloped by Likeafish Swim School – a family business based in the community for the last ten years – the Swim Centre was built in order to provide a world-class aquatic environment to facilitate swimming teaching to all ages and abilities. The organisation’s new facility in Carmarthen, which took around 12 months to build, features a 16 x 6 metre above-ground swimming pool that is 1.2 metres deep, kept at 32°C and is used exclusively for swim school activities; teaching around 1,000 swimmers aged 4-14 years every week, in addition to parent and baby classes, adult classes and fitness sessions.
Q. Two years on from opening the Swim Centre, what were your initial decarbonisation
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ideals during the build and the realities today? A. I first signed up to the ideals of decarbonisation back in 2019 when I signed the Green Growth Pledge, which is designed to help Welsh businesses reduce their carbon footprint. However, when I opened the Swim Centre in May 2021, the global pandemic, strains on the construction market due to the early stages of Brexit and the general pressure of building my first facility meant that I didn’t do as much as I would have liked to have done, or had planned due to costs, straight away. The real turning point in my journey realistically came in 2022 when the energy crisis hit and costs tripled. I’d like to think I would have started decarbonising the business if the Russia / Ukraine conflict hadn’t erupted, but the reality is, one year after opening, it was
the driving force behind us having to review our energy usage and find ways to minimise costs.
Q. How did the energy crisis hit you and what did you do?
A. My costs escalated overnight from around £1,000 to £3,000 per month. I had a massive problem and although I knew solar panels and batteries would help, I had lots to do to reduce our actual usage. Reviewing and assessing all of our usage isn’t as glamorous as the solar panels but it is crucial to anyone wanting to take their first steps on the decarbonisation journey.
Q. Can you provide specific examples of the steps you took? A. I worked with my air handling unit
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 25/01/2024 21:32