Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) is partnering with E.ON to deliver a 15-year energy efficiency programme that will help NUH to deliver on its ambitious environmental targets and improve staff and patient comfort.
Work has begun on major works to renovate the energy systems and reduce emissions at the Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) site in Nottingham, including installing a renewable geothermal heating and cooling system as well as new energy saving windows and smarter building controls.
At the heart of the initiative will be a new £15 million energy centre providing low carbon heating and cooling to the QMC. Built and operated by E.ON, the new energy centre will house four high-efficiency heat pumps that extract heat from the air and will also draw from the natural warmth of the earth. To do that, 64 boreholes descending up to 250 metres (the length of seven Nottingham trams end-to-end) under the ground will provide the hospital with a sustainable low carbon energy source.
The project, costing a total of £64 million, is expected to cut QMC’s carbon emissions by 10,000 tonnes of CO2 or 30% a year initially, increasing to around 43% once the current gas-fired heating system is decommissioned.
It is the largest recipient of funding from Phase 3 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, initiated by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Salix Finance. The programme is being facilitated by the Carbon and Energy Fund (CEF) which manages complex energy infrastructure upgrades for the NHS.
Anthony May, Chief Executive of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “This partnership demonstrates our significant commitment to environmental sustainability and offers a creative solution to meeting our energy needs and tackling climate change, while at the same time improving patient and staff comfort by allowing us to better manage temperatures within our buildings. Innovative projects like these will play a hugely important role in helping us meet our ambitious goal of achieving a net zero carbon operation for heating and cooling system emissions by 2040.”
Chris Norbury, E.ON UK Chief Executive, said: “Tackling the environmental impact of heating, especially in densely populated areas, is key to meeting the UK’s net zero targets. Part of that urgent challenge is re-imagining how energy is provided to homes, businesses and cities to explore what can be done to take action and reduce carbon on a large scale.
“We’ve provided a source of heating and cooling to the QMC for many decades with an E.ON energy site in the grounds of the hospital. I’m proud Nottingham University Hospitals are trusting us to build on our successful relationship with this project, clearly demonstrating how working towards net zero can also have a direct benefit for the people who work, visit and stay at the hospital. We’ll be working alongside local companies to bring this to life and deliver a future-proofed energy system for Nottingham and beyond.”
NUH and E.ON are already working with Wilmott Dixon and Acorn Aluminium to replace around 12,000 single glazed windows on the 38-acre QMC campus, increasing energy efficiency by reducing heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer, as well as improving comfort for patients, visitors and staff.
A new building management system run by E.ON Control Solutions will improve control of the building and its equipment, optimising energy efficiency to improve sustainability and reduce energy costs.
