Vital Energi helps hospital slash energy bills
Cheltenham General Hospital is guaranteed a 40% reduction on its annual energy bills by a £3.1 million project by Vital Energi. The savings will amount to £577 000 a year. Carbon emissions will also be reduced by 1739 t a year, amounting to 30%.
The project is being partially funded by a £960 000 grant from the Department of Health, with the rest of the capital provided by Vital Energi and to be repaid over the contract term. This approach allows the local NHS trust to achieve the savings without using any of its own capital, so it can make savings from the outset of the 18-year energy-performance contract.
Vital Energi will initially focus on developing self-funding energy-reduction initiatives across the whole estate. They include major upgrades to the BMS, lighting scheme and the design and installation of a site-wide automatic metering system. Other works include the installation of a CHP engine and a buried district-heating network to distribute hot water around the site.
Ian Whitelock, joint managing director of Vital Energi, comments, ‘Installing equipment such as CHP and biomass is only one element of reducing energy costs and carbon emissions in the NHS. Using less energy more efficiently is crucial and should be the initial step in developing a complete solution.’
