Sun to help generate clean green energy at Wolverhampton hospital - CEF
21/07/2022
Framework 04

Sun to help generate clean green energy at Wolverhampton hospital

More than 15,000 electricity generating solar panels are being installed at a new city solar farm to help power the whole of New Cross Hospital and save 1,450 tonnes of carbon a year.

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, and project partners, had to overcome a number of challenges – including badgers, methane, and anti-social behaviour -to prepare the brownfield site, which is more than 40 acres – the size of 22 football pitches.

The panels, which will all be installed by October, are part of a multi-million-pound investment, provided by Salix Finance, a government-funded body, to help power the hospital for three quarters of the year – around 288 days of self-generated renewable energy.

The new solar farm will save the Trust around £15 million-£20 million over the next 20 years; around £1 million a year, money which will be put back into frontline healthcare.

Stew Watson, Director of Estates Development at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said: “We’re working really hard to meet the Trust’s and the NHS’s target to reach net zero carbon by 2040 and this investment is a huge boost to help us achieve that. Our primary focus as a Trust is always on the patient and these works ensure the Trust saves money on future energy bills, which we can then subsequently invest across other healthcare services.”

Salix Finance provided the Trust with nearly £10 million in 2021 and it recently received a further £33 million to carry out green energy works as part of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).

Rob Gray, Project Manager from the CEF, said: “A lot of work has happened to get the site ready for the solar panels. Firstly, we had issues with the methane venting system, which is in place to release the gases from the waste material buried under the ground. Following surveys and an Environmental Agency inspection, the local authority undertook gas venting works and an additional drainage network was installed, to ensure water escaped correctly from the site to reduce standing water and flooding. Further to the surveys and clearing the land of trees, we also had to protect the badger setts on site by creating exclusion zones within the project for the badgers to continue to inhabit. Once the land was cleared, we installed 24 hour security.”

The solar panels are being installed, in part, to power the five air source heat pumps that are being installed at New Cross Hospital. Other energy efficiency measures taking place at the Trust include steam trap replacements, pipework insulation, LED lighting and window replacement.

Work has also began on the underground cabling which will connect the hospital to the solar farm. Helen Brindle, of Vital Energi explained the challenges of installing the one and a half miles of private wire from the solar site across the highway, a canal bridge and a busy road junction to the hospital. She said: “The underground cabling has to be dug through fields and the local highway from the solar farm to the hospital. This will take around four months to complete and will ensure a brand new clean, green energy source for the hospital.”

Jake Helliwell, from Salix Finance’s NHS team, said: “Stew and the team at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust are particularly determined to carry out these works to improve the energy supply of the hospital, reducing their bills in the process and freeing up resources to improve patient care. This project is particularly ambitious and time-pressured but the whole team’s energy, knowledge and passion has been invaluable in overcoming various challenges with delivery. Working with them has been an absolute pleasure.”

Salix Finance provides government funding to the public sector to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and lower energy bills. Salix Finance is a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Education, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government.

18/03/2024
Framework 05

Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital is set to open its new solar farm at a former landfill site in April 2024

A solar farm which will power Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital for three quarters of the year is set to be up and running this spring.

18/03/2024
Framework 05

CEF appoints F P Hurley to deliver a £9million contract to cut carbon and energy costs for Warwick Hospital

We’re pleased to announce that F P Hurley has been awarded a major decarbonisation project at Warwick Hospital with on-site works starting December 2023.

22/09/2023
Framework 05

CEF enables Nottingham University Hospitals to partner with E.ON to deliver on its net zero ambitions

New Queen’s Medical Centre heating and cooling system expected to cut CO2 emissions by around 10,000 tonnes a year– the equivalent of taking more than 2,200 cars off the road

22/09/2023
Framework 05

Bridlington Hospital receives £4.7m of grant funding

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust received £4.7m of grant funding as part of the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).

09/03/2023
Framework 05

Mater Misericordiae University Hospital

Target savings for Dublin’s Mater Misericordiae University Hospital following the first year of operations have yielded an additional €44k of savings.

28/02/2023
Framework 05

Eastbourne District General Hospital

The Carbon and Energy Fund has appointed Veolia to deliver a £27million contract to cut carbon and energy costs for Eastbourne District General Hospital.