Vital Energi has worked with Cheltenham General Hospital to help save money, reduce CO₂ emissions and deliver sustainable energy solutions.
As part of a £3.1m project, Vital Energi will guarantee the trust savings of £577,000 per year, equivalent to a 40% reduction on its current energy bills and operating costs. The deal will also reduce carbon emissions by 1,789 tonnes per annum - or 30%. Both the energy and carbon savings will be guaranteed by Vital Energi under an 18-year energy performance contract.
The project is being partially funded by a £960,000 grant from the Department of Health, with the remainder of capital provided by Vital Energi, which will be repaid over the contract term. his approach allows the trust to achieve the savings without using any of its own capital and therefore it can make the savings from year one.
Providing the best patient care possible is something we are strongly committed to, so reducing energy costs and investing those savings into frontline clinical services is hugely important for us
Vital has taken a strategic approach to the project, initially focusing on developing self-funding energy reduction initiatives across the whole estate, which includes major upgrades to the Building Management System (BMS), lighting scheme and the design and installation of a site-wide automatic meter reading system. Other works include the installation of a combined heat and power engine and a buried district heating network for the distribution of hot water around the site.
Ted Rogers, associate director or capital and development at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which operates the hospital, said: “Providing the best patient care possible is something we are strongly committed to, so reducing energy costs and investing those savings into frontline clinical services is hugely important for us.
“This energy scheme will allow the hospital to reduce energy usage, lower carbon emissions and create a more-resilient energy and heating infrastructure and those benefits will be felt for the next 18 years.”
The project was procured through the Carbon and Energy Fund, which required the project to move quickly to meet the trust’s scheduled deadlines. Vital Energi progressed from invitation to tender to contract signing in under six months, which then led to a 27-week construction programme. This meant the whole process, from initial tender to project completion, will take less than 12 months.
This energy scheme will allow the hospital to reduce energy usage, lower carbon emissions and create a more-resilient energy and heating infrastructure and those benefits will be felt for the next 18 years
Ian Whitelock, joint managing director of Vital Energi, said: “At Vital we recognise that installing equipment such as combined heat and power and biomass is only one element of reducing energy costs and carbon emissions in the NHS. Using less energy more efficiently is crucial and should be the initial step in developing a complete solution, and at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust we have done just that.
“We have formed a close partnership with the trust which will deliver a sustainable energy solution, including comprehensive energy efficiency measures and demand reduction strategies. This solution will continue to deliver benefits to the trust for the next 18 years making it another important addition to the UK’s sustainable energy infrastructure.”
- Companies:
- Cheltenham General Hospital
- Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Vital Energi
