Cheltenham General Hospital has officially opened its newly-revamped energy centre, which will save Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust over £10m and reduce carbon emissions by more than 32,000 tonnes over the next 18 years.
The innovative solution was developed, designed and installed by Vital Energi, which will now operate and maintain the project under a guaranteed energy performance contract for the next 18 years.
All trusts know there are potential savings and carbon reductions to be made across hospital estates
Trust chairman, Professor Clair Chilvers, said: “We had two specific ambitions which we wanted to achieve. We wanted to significantly reduce the amount of money we spent on heating to allow us to reinvest savings into frontline services and patient care. Secondly, we wanted to reduce our carbon emissions; and I’m delighted to say that this project will deliver both these targets.
“It’s a big success story for our trust, for Vital Energi and for the Carbon & Energy Fund, whose framework meant that the project went from contract signature to practical completion in less than nine months.”
Ashley Malin, project development director for Vital Energi, said: “All trusts know there are potential savings and carbon reductions to be made across hospital estates.
“With the support of Vital Energi and frameworks such as the Carbon & Energy Fund, hospitals like Cheltenham General can realise these savings quickly and they are guaranteed by Vital for the agreement duration.
“Overall our work with the trust will save the hospital £10.4m over the life of the project, making this a great example of what is typically achievable across the healthcare sector.”
The work at Cheltenham will deliver a 30% financial reduction on energy bills and the solution will also deliver a reduction of 1,789 tonnes per year, which represents a 40% reduction for the trust.
The project was procured through the Carbon and Energy Fund and both the Department of Health and Aviva contributed towards its funding.