SUSTAINABILITY
Heat Decarbonisation Plan “When looking at gas use,” he added, “one tool available at the start of the roadmap is the Heat Decarbonisation Plan, which allows you to consider whether you may be able to source low or zero carbon heat from nearby heat networks or waste heat sources. If so, your Green Plan may recommend investigating such options.” David Oliver explained that the first work Inenco would recommend for all hospital sites is to reduce heat demand via energy efficiency works – addressing poor insulation, reducing draughts, and improving building energy management controls – measures that could all help cut gas demand, and provide reasonable ROI. Sites that use steam should look at their boilers’ efficiency, and the standing losses in the distribution system, and start planning a phased de-steaming programme. He said: “However, before replacing steam boilers with systems that operate at around 80˚C, think about 2040, when most of your heat will come from sources at around 45˚C, which require larger distribution pipes and larger air-handling units. So, design a replacement system that can work with gas now, but can be converted to run off heat pumps in the future.
“Finally, between now and 2032, you may have to shut down potentially your biggest gas user – your CHP, which will reduce gas emissions, but increase electricity imports. Since the electricity imports are zero carbon, the net reduction in emissions will be substantial. However, we all know CHP provides significant cost savings, so you will
Travel
Building energy Procurement
3.41 MtCO2 4.14 MtCO2 11.07 MtCO2
Source: The NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy for England (CRS), January 2009
18%
n Travel n Building energy use n Procurement
60%
18% 22% 60%
this would inform your Green Plan targets; the example Trust shown is theoretically missing its trajectory to meet the targets in all of the next five years, but has a long- term plan to meet them, and knows what actions are needed. The targets for this Green Plan period are around enabling, research, and planning, but don’t actually meet the objective; that comes later.”
22% Figure 4: NHS Carbon Footprint 2004.
probably want to leave this as long as possible, unless changes in legislation make CHP unattractive before then.
Consider trialling heat pump systems
“In the example on screen,” he explained, “the energy efficiency measures, de- steaming, and CHP shutdown, bring the emissions to close to 20% of 1990 levels. However, even if a wholesale change to heat pumps is not required in the next decade for the interim targets, you may want to consider trialling heat pump systems to develop experience in operating and maintaining them, and optimising their use. You can see how
‘Elephants in the room’ Beth Goodwin said: “I’m sure you’ll have realised there are some key consequences of the Net Zero targets that may not have been thought through properly, and we will now discuss these.” David Oliver addressed the first of these ‘elephants in the room’ – Carbon Footprint baselining. He said: “Most Government targets use a 1990 baseline to compare current emissions against, but we believe this is flawed, since all Trusts can demonstrate substantial carbon reductions since 1990, due to the change in our energy generation mix. As we have just seen, a site may already be on the straight-line trajectory from 1990 emissions to 20% of these in 2030, having in fact done very little.” This created ‘a concern that could lead to complacency’, since while decarbonisation of electricity had been relatively easy over the last decade, most sites had seen only small reductions in heat use. The ‘real 2040 challenge’ was to decarbonise heat, transport, medical gases, and then the wider supply chain. In Inenco’s view, all NHS Trusts should calculate their carbon footprint today (adjusted for COVID effects), and then devise a plan to achieve Net Zero carbon in the next 20 years.
March 2021 Health Estate Journal 35
©Sustainable Development Unit
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