CARBON AND ENERGY SAVING
will be overly complex to install; the main issue was at the design stage – in making sure the operating noise would not overly impact our (residential) neighbours. We undertook a lot of sound and acoustic surveys to measure the noise levels in various areas, and are currently demolishing an area next to the Energy Centre to create a new compound incorporating external acoustic panelling, within which the air source and water source heat pumps will go. “The scheduled completion for the
entire project will be October 2022, with commissioning continuing until around December. We will have two air source heat pumps feeding into a water-to- water pump. The philosophy of the M&E designers, Padd Energy, was that this should provide a minimum of 80% of the heat for the hospital over the whole year. There may be times when, if it gets really cold, we won’t get the required temperatures, and the pumps may be down for maintenance. We have thus also installed three new 2 MW Bosch gas boilers in the Energy Centre; the overall site heat load is about 4 MW.”
Quantifying the carbon and cost savings The bulk of the de-steaming work will be within the hospital. Michael Blades explained: “Breathe has tendered out various elements of the project – with the M&E installation work being undertaken by Imtech, its parent company.” I asked whether the team had calculated the projected carbon and cost savings. Michael Blades said he had just received the final figures, and had yet to scrutinise them. He said: “At design stage, however, we were looking to achieve an 80 per
The Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington.
cent reduction in carbon emissions over a 15-year period (using BEIS conversion factors). There will be very big savings in years 1 and 2, and, after that, they will fall gradually, as the National Grid’s carbon intensity reduces over time. I would probably argue that because we buy ‘green’ electricity, and purchase the REGOS (the Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) for this, we are using zero carbon electricity at all of our sites.” The team was also talking to other parties, such as the Duke of Northumberland, about the solar farm he may be developing on his land. He said: “As projects like that develop, we’re talking to his Estates managers to see how we can integrate and get private supplies.”
Electrical and gas contracts He continued: “Having only recently tendered for our electricity and gas contracts, we’ve stipulated that the successful bidders must allow us to look at alternative electrical supplies. So, for example, if the NSECH wanted to buy electricity from the grid, and we get the
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potential to put a private supply in from a solar farm nearby to supply most of the site’s electricity, we will still need to contract with the grid to get electricity at night time. We’re looking at the ability to get into or modify hybrid contracts as green energy supplies take off. We now also own a PPE factory in Seaton Delaval, near North Shields, as a Northumbria Healthcare FM business, and are looking at installing up to 3.5 MW of PV on the factory’s roof.”
Michael Blades has also recently
commissioned an investment grade audit of all of the Trust’s sites. He said: “Its focus is clearly on decarbonisation, and currently, under the Government’s directions, you would decarbonise by electrifying the heating. However, in parallel, the Trust has ambitions to change its entire fleet to electric vehicles by 2025, so I need to consider the impact on both the internal and external electrical infrastructure, and whether we can actually bring increased electrical supplies into some hospitals, because in locations like Alnwick there may not be sufficient capacity.”
June 2022 Health Estate Journal 55
Courtesy of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
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