City Hospital goes green
END OF THE LINE FOR COAL AND GAS AS ECO-FRIENDLY PLANS GET £25M GRANT
NOTTINGHAM City Hospital will move away from burning coal and gas with a £25m green grant.
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) has got the money as part of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
The hospital can now replace aged gas and coal-fired boilers that provide heating and energy with more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies.
The scheme, administered by Salix on behalf of the Government, helps public sector organisations to play their part in tackling climate change.
It will save the Trust £1.8m a year. The work will include demolishing the old laundry area, opening the area up for development, as well as building a new energy centre equipped with combined heat and power units to provide heating and electricity.
The money will also pay for other energy efficiency and carbon reduction measures such as LED lighting, photo-voltaic panels and air-source heat pumps. Neighbours welcomed the news. Kate Hall, retired, of Sherwood, 66, said: “I remember reading an article about the hospital, and how it’s one of the few that is still using a very old system. Obviously everything that would improve the environment in the area is welcomed by the residents. I think it’s brilliant that we will go green. I’m not sure what their plans are, but I’m positive about this.”
Joseph Vincent, 45, of Sherwood, said: “I heard the news because my wife is a NHS worker so we’re obviously very happy to hear this. We’ve been waiting for this change and we think it’s great for the area and workers there.”
Andrew Chatten, director of estates and facilities at NUH, said: “We have long wanted to replace the old, inefficient gas-fired boilers on the City Hospital site, and remove the coal-fired boilers which were also very damaging for the environment and costly to run.
“We are committed to doing everything possible to reduce our carbon footprint, and to upgrade our ageing hospital estate, which costs a lot to maintain and makes it much harder for us to deliver the outstanding patient care to which we aspire. This funding is a real step forward in helping us make City Hospital more energy efficient.”
In 2019, the hospital was reportedly one of two hospitals still using a coal-powered boiler, with Goole and District Hospital in North Yorkshire.
Sameen Khan, NHS programme manager for Salix Finance, said: “We are pleased that we can support NUH and be a partner in their landmark project. Their commitment to improving their patient care, facilities, reducing their carbon footprint and considering the impact they were having on the environment, has been emphasised from the onset of their funding application and relationship with Salix.”
NUH is also set to receive money in the second wave of the Health Infrastructure Plan, which focuses on hospital building projects between now and 2030.