The Paul Younger Energy Centre, in Hebburn, has been officially opened by the Mayor of South Tyneside.
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00:00The facility uses air source heat pumps to provide renewable heat for Hebburn Central Leisure Facility and Durham Court High-Rise Residential Block.
00:15It provides carbon savings of around 319 tonnes each year, which is absolutely fantastic for the environment and contributes greatly to our climate change ambitions.
00:34And can I just say that South Tyneside Council's climate change ambitions, we are ahead of the game.
00:41The energy centre is named after the late Professor Paul Younger, an internationally renowned environmental engineer who was born in Hebburn.
00:53Paul was described by his colleagues as passionate, warm and as having a fundamental desire to do good in the world.
01:07I am delighted that Paul's family and friends are able to join us today for this very special occasion.
01:16And I'm sure that Paul would have been extremely proud to have such a fantastic facility in the town in which he was born.
01:28For someone who loved geology, energy and improving the environment, this centre is a fitting tribute to my father's legacy.
01:37On behalf of my family, I would like to thank South Tyneside Council and all their partners who made this a reality.
01:47We hope that this centre will inspire future generations, just as Paul inspired all of us to imagine a better, more sustainable world.
01:55We deeply wish that he could be here with us today. We are incredibly proud of his vision and hard work that are continuing to make a real impact.
02:03And the fact that homes and businesses and the leisure centre are already benefiting from low carbon heat that he brought to life.
02:10My dad also understood well that science is a collective endeavour.
02:15He was skilled at bringing people together, creating partnerships and nurturing people's potential.
02:20He worked as part of teams throughout his whole career and it's heartening to see some of his collaborators and colleagues from Newcastle University here with us today.
02:29His legacy also lives on through them.
02:32And this is particularly the case with geothermal energy, where thankfully my dad's vision to use geothermal energy to displace fossil fuels as a source of heat for buildings is just starting to materialise across the UK.
02:48This is thanks to the efforts of many of the people who worked with my dad during the last two decades of his life.
02:54And this energy centre is a beautiful tribute to my dad's memory and moves us closer towards his vision of enough for all forever.