Energy Centre to save Trust £12.7million

Today (Wednesday 4 March) marked the official opening of the refurbished Energy Centre at York Hospital when Vital Energi, the appointed supplier for the project, officially handed over the centre to the Trust.

York Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust is committed to reducing its carbon footprint through the work of its Sustainable Development Group. The development of the energy centre is helping make a large step towards reducing the Trust’s carbon footprint.

Brian Golding, Director of Estates and Facilities, said: “As an organisation, we are very much aware of sustainability issues and are committed to reducing our environmental impact. Our sustainable development group ensures that we are consistently addressing energy consumption across all our hospitals, looking at everything from light bulbs through to the design of new buildings.

“Last year we completed a major energy saving and carbon reduction project at York Hospital using a Carbon and Energy Fund Framework with Vital Energi. Since the completion of this project, we have seen a huge reduction in our energy consumption.

“We are delighted to officially open the refurbished energy centre.  By reducing energy costs, we can reinvest savings into front line services and patient care.”

The principal component of the new installation is a new combined heat and power unit (CHP). Carbon emissions are projected to be cut by 2,996 tonnes a year, a reduction of 22 per cent.

CHP is a great technology that uses a gas fuelled engine to produce electricity, while heat is collected from the hot exhaust gases of the engine to help heat the hospital. This is a far more efficient way of producing electricity than normal power stations and reduces carbon dioxide emissions.

Ashley Malin, Project Development Director at Vital Energi, commented: “York Hospital had a clear desire to reduce both its carbon output and its energy spend, and by Vital Energi guaranteeing these savings the Trust can now be 100 per cent confident that this project will deliver day in, day out, benefiting residents and service users for years to come. This Trust can now stand as a role model for what ambitious and committed hospitals can achieve when they put sustainability at their heart.”

The £4.6million project will achieve guaranteed savings of £848,000 (in the first year) a year, or a 26 per cent reduction on current energy bills and operating costs.  Overall it will save the hospital £12.7million over the life of the project.

04 March 2015