Funding secured for one of NHS\'s most-significant carbon reduction programmes

Published: 7-Aug-2014

Amber Green agrees £12m funding for Energy Performance Contract between St George’s NHS Healthcare Trust, British Gas and Breathe Energy

Amber Green, manager of the London Energy Efficiency Fund (LEEF), has reached financial close on a £12m loan agreement for St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London.

The contract will finance an Energy Performance Contract (EPC) between St George’s NHS Healthcare Trust, British Gas and London-based partner, Breathe Energy.

The initial capital outlay for the installation of low-carbon technologies will be financed through the costs identified in the EPC, allowing one of the UK’s largest teaching hospitals to instead invest savings into critical medical care, training and research facilities.

Working alongside the trust, we have reviewed their estate and put in place a bespoke plan to help dramatically reduce energy costs and carbon emissions

It will reduce the hospital’s overall energy cost spend by 25% and cut more than 6,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year - equivalent to removing over 3,000 cars from the road.

The EPC will make a net saving of over £1.02m per year to the trust during its 15-year life.

The transaction is the second-largest EPC delivered through Essentia’s procurement framework. The value is one of the largest for any London-based NHS entity and one of the largest EPC health projects in the UK.

Leo Bedford, director of LEEF at Amber Green, said: “We are pleased to have secured funding for another vital energy efficiency project which will bring significant benefits to a local London community. St George’s Tooting is the first NHS trust to receive LEEF funding, underlining the fund’s support for a diverse range of projects aiming to reduce carbon emissions and drive significant savings across the capital.”

In the current economic climate, it is vital we maximise the resources that we are able to put into both patient care and student experience

Eric Munro, joint director of estates and facilities at St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust and St George’s University of London, added: “In the current economic climate, it is vital we maximise the resources that we are able to put into both patient care and student experience. We are also very conscious of our environmental footprint and this project will go a long way to reducing our carbon impact.”

And Mike Chessum, head of energy construction services at British Gas, said: “Working alongside the trust, we have reviewed their estate and put in place a bespoke plan to help dramatically reduce energy costs and carbon emissions. These savings are effectively guaranteed by the contract and means the trust can make a positive return on its investment.”

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