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£5.7m for decarbonisation and energy efficiency at the Horton General
23/03/2023
Heat pumps, solar panels and new pipework will help reduce carbon emissions and save money
Funding of £5.7m is being provided by a government scheme to support a decarbonisation and energy efficiency project at the Horton General Hospital.
Low-carbon energy will be installed at the hospital helping reduce the carbon footprint and delivering financial savings.
The Horton General is part of the Oxford University Hospitals Trust which was successful with two bids worth £29.8m in total. £24.1m has been allocated to the John Radcliffe.
The cash will come from the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), which supports the aim of reducing emissions from public sector buildings.
Its estimated that 5,000 tonnes of carbon will be saved thanks to the project, with the Trust paying an additional £7.5m towards the wider scheme.
The project involves the two hospitals being ‘de-steamed’, with the existing steam network to be decommissioned and replaced with new, cleaner, and more efficient pipework. This will be heated by substituting gas boilers with low carbon electric heat pumps and additional energy efficiency measures.
Solar panels and more efficient pipework insulation, as well as new double glazing and draught proofing, will be installed to improve energy efficiency.
Work is due to begin in the coming weeks. A plan will be developed to ensure that services on both sites remain operational and works are carried out with minimal disruption.
Sam Foster, Chief Nursing Officer and Estates Lead at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This funding allows us to undertake transformative and significant works that will help achieve the Trust’s Green Plan objectives and with the added benefit of improving the comfort of our patients and staff in the older buildings.”
Stuart Kinton, Chair of the OUH Sustainability Network, said: “This project will significantly help OUH on its journey towards the national target for a net zero NHS carbon footprint by 2040. Achieving this goal will take significant ambition and engagement across all areas of the Trust; this project is a great example of that level of ambition and investment.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam