£1.9m boost to improve energy efficiency at Plymouth hospitals

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust will benefit from a slice of a £50 million national fund to help cut its energy bill, it has been announced today.

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust has been awarded £1.9 million from the national fund. The money will be used to fund two projects, which will dramatically improve the Trust's energy efficiency.

Nick Thomas, Director of Planning and Site Services, said: “We are delighted to have secured funding to help us improve our energy efficiency. We will be using the money to fund two projects, which will not only help us to cut our energy costs and reduce our energy emissions but will also enable us to continue to deliver high quality care to our patients in a more environmentally-friendly manner.”

The first project will be the installation of a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine. Nick explains: “Traditional electricity generation also produces a large quantity of waste heat. By installing the CHP locally, we will generate electricity and use the waste heat energy to heat our buildings.”

The Trust’s second project will make use of IT systems to automatically shut down idle computers, which will save it nearly £50,000 a year.

These changes will save 1,800 tonnes of CO2 – the same as the carbon emission produced from the electricity used in 248 homes. Improved efficiency will save the Trust £484,000 every year.

Over the expected 15-year life of the projects, it is predicted that the Trust will save in the region of £10.5m.