Wye Valley NHS Trust has taken a significant step forward on its journey towards net zero carbon following the submission of a planning application for an energy centre at the County Hospital.
The trust is already fossil-fuel free in a number of its ancillary buildings on the site following the construction of a large ground-source heat pump which went live last year.
A full business case is now being written and will be presented to the trust’s board for approval once planning consent is given.
If approved, the new energy centre will house six air-source and three water-to-water source heat pumps which will provide heating and hot water for the main hospital building, and further ancillary buildings via a new low-temperature hot water (LTHW) network to further reduce the reliance on fossil fuel at the site.
Alan Dawson, the trust’s chief strategy and planning officer, said: “We are already considered a pace-setter across the NHS in terms of carbon reduction with the work that has already taken place.
“This potential upgrading of the hospital’s heat energy system will deliver a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, reducing the hospital’s carbon footprint and contributing to the battle to combat climate change.”