A £14.8m Energy Project has been officially launched by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The launch came on the same day the trust received the first month figures for energy use at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals following the installation of a new combined heat and power (CHP) and Energy Link.
In October 2016, the trust’s energy bill for the two hospitals, excluding the PFI estates, was £484,175.03.
In October 2017, the same bill was £252,832.27, equivalent to an energy spend reduction of £231,343.03 in the first month - a saving of £7,462 every day at the two hospitals.
The new Energy Project, run in conjunction with Vital Energi, included removing 30 and 40-year-old boilers at both hospitals and replacing them with CHP engines, new combi boilers, associated upgrades, and the replacement of 6,407 light fittings.
The two hospitals, which now share an energy centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital, are connected via a 2.2km energy link which includes high-voltage cabling, district heating pipework, and communications cabling.
This new energy and heating infrastructure will cut the trust’s CO₂ output by 10,000 tonnes a year and guarantees to save the trust £461,746 a year on its energy bills for 25 years.
Ashley Malin of Vital Energi said: “In addition to the significant financial savings, this project also delivers significant benefits to the local community in lower CO₂ emissions and the trust will certainly benefit for the long-term futureproofing of its energy and heat infrastructure.”
Claire Hennessy, head of operational estates and facilities management at the trust, added: “This is a new era of sustainable energy provision. For the first time in decades we are going into the winter with reliable heat and power, while also cutting our CO₂ emissions and saving on energy bills and backlog maintenance.”
