Over £4m is set to be invested on a range of energy-saving measures at the Hospital of St Cross in Rugby, as a result of a major government grant.
As part of the Green Plan, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) secured funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).
The development is due to start later this summer and will focus on installing low carbon heating solutions to replace fossil fuel powered equipment as part of the ongoing effort in the health sector to reach net zero by 2040.
Professor Andy Hardy, Chief Executive Officer at UHCW NHS Trust, said: “It is terrific news to hear our application has been successful and we can press ahead with this vital work.
“Our new Organisational Strategy sets out our commitment to playing a positive and sustainable contribution to the local economy, and this will build on other green developments already completed around the Trust’s estate.
“Not only will it assist in delivering our Green Plan, this work will also provide a positive financial saving that can be reinvested in patient care. We are very proud of our hospital at Rugby and the staff that work there, so we look forward to making these improvements.”
Plans for the hospitals include installing a new 200kw air source heat pump, the complete removal fossil fuel-fired plant and thermal insulation measures.
In order to enable site-wide utilisation of the heat pump, an installation of a district heating network to interconnect the heating centres will be included in the plans too.
A collection of 1,250 solar panels will also be placed across the roof, with all these actions reducing maintenance costs and improving energy supply resilience, ultimately contributing to a saving of more than 600 tonnes of carbon every year.
The money for the developments has been provided by BEIS and comes as part of the phase three of the PSDS, which will provide £1.4bn to the cause of reducing emissions in public sector buildings by 75% by 2037.
Business and Energy Minister, Lord Callanan, said: “This funding will bring significant savings for taxpayers of well over half a billion pounds each year by making public buildings cheaper to run, heat and cool, whilst supporting economic growth and jobs.”
This all comes as the latest measure in a variety of recent initiatives carried out at the Hospital of St Cross and is also the latest project the UHCW NHS Trust has undertaken in efforts to ‘green’ the NHS.
More information about the new plans is available here.
