Over £2 million to fit solar panels at Cornish hospital sites
The Trust has received grant funding to install 2,725 solar panels, which will save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. The estimated cost saving is £6.5 million over the lifetime of the panels.
The panels will also reduce the Trust's carbon emissions. The total amount of carbon dioxide avoided each year will be enough to fill 333 hot air balloons or Big Ben 25 times over!
The solar panels will be installed at 11 sites in Cornwall. 1 site will receive a battery storage system. The sites to benefit are:
- Bodmin Community Hospital
- Liskeard Community Hospital
- Longreach House at Redruth
- Camborne Health Office
- Bellair Health Office at Penzance
- Camborne Redruth Community Hospital
- Falmouth Community Hospital
- Helston Community Hospital
- Launceston Community Hospital
- St Barnabas Community Hospital at Saltash
- Stratton Community Hospital
The panels will be fitted thanks to a national funding grant of almost £2.2 million. Alan Bean, Trust Sustainability Programme Manager secured the funding:
"We are grateful to our staff who are working hard to deliver these projects. They will lead to a significant reduction in our carbon footprint and operating costs.
"The electricity generated by the solar systems will be roughly the same amount used in 518 homes.
"Overall, we will reduce the electricity we buy from the grid by about 30%. This will save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.
"The cost savings could be used to improve patient care or fund other carbon reduction projects. This is a key moment in our efforts to achieve healthier outcomes for people, the planet and pounds. That is the vision for our Net Zero programme."
A total of 78 NHS Trusts and 200 NHS sites in England have received funding. The benefits include:
- expected annual savings of around £8.6 million, along with current savings from solar power in the NHS
- an estimated additional 55 million kWh of solar-generated electricity
- an estimated return on investment of 200 to 260% in less than 15 years
- a 300% increase in NHS solar generation.
The news follows the Trust being awarded over half a million pounds from the NHS Energy Efficiency Fund (NEEF).
The bulk of the NEEF grants will be used for LED lighting upgrades and to install solar panels. The funds will also cover upgrades to building management systems. These will better control heating, ventilation and air conditioning. This includes Sowenna, our child and adolescent mental health unit at Bodmin.