Salford Royal Hospital in Greater Manchester is expected to slash £1.9m from its annual energy bill thanks to a new efficiency programme part-funded by the Green Investment Bank (GIB).

As part of the upgrade, the energy centre at Salford Royal will undergo a full refresh, including the installation of a new 2.5MW Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine. A series of energy reduction measures will also be installed such as LED lighting and the optimisation of the building management system.

The GIB is committing £3.4m to the scheme alongside £3.5m from financial group DLL. The project was procured through the Carbon and Energy Fund (CEF) framework – a mechanism designed to fund, facilitate and manage complex energy infrastructure upgrades for the NHS and wider Public Sector.

Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust estates manager Mike Dance said: “The Carbon and Energy Fund has given the Trust a fantastic opportunity. We will upgrade a key part of our energy infrastructure while at the same time reducing our carbon emissions and saving money.”

Duty of care

UKGIB head of investment banking Ed Northam said: “The NHS is one of the UK’s biggest energy consumers and upgrading existing technology will increase the reliability and resilience of its entire estate. This programme of energy efficient improvements will save energy, cut costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions without impinging on patient care.”

In December last year, the GIB also part-funded an energy efficiency upgrade at NHS Tayside in Dundee. Several other NHS hospitals have taken advantage of the CEF framework to boost efficiency and install CHP systems.

A recent report from Bloomber New Energy Finance found that UK businesses are implementing energy efficiency schemes at the highest rate ever.

Efficient lighting is the most popular installation choice, with use of lighting controls seeing significant growth. This chimes with edie’s own 2015 survey of energy managers, which found that 76% of respondents were prioritising energy-efficient lighting systems this year.

Edie.net