CARBON AND ENERGY REDUCTION


quoted blocker to achieving it, however, is the perceived lack of resource – most notably funding. Experience would suggest that this is not the case, or at least not true in the way that many people interpret the reason. The actual blockers are the risks associated with new technologies, and when managed effectively, the resource follows. The Net Zero routes immediately available are few, and in essence include: 1 Geothermal energy. 2 Hydrogen. 3 Electricity. 4 Burning a low carbon fuel. 5 District energy.


Figure 2:


An illustrative geothermal scheme. (See Part 4.)


Geological Survey’s database, and about 100 sites have geothermal potential. The piloting wave of five projects is in procurement, and will investigate and install geothermal energy under a flexible procurement route called an Innovation Partnership. This allows careful phasing and management of discoveries and risk. Hydrogen: So far two main hydrogen areas are worth progressing, and Trusts which have a chance to get hydrogen will be approached to participate in the collaboration during this year in specially set up workshops. While liquid hydrogen will be available this year, we are targeting 2027 for the completion of the first tranche of piped Trust connections. Sites will need conversion to 100% hydrogen and a review of their resilience arrangements. The first workshops to investigate the interest in collaboration will occur this year, with sessions planned at Healthcare Estates in October 2023. Decarbonisation of gas at the point of use: In the absence of geothermal or hydrogen energy sources, technologies to decarbonise gas on site are being investigated. (See Part 5.) Other low carbon fuels are also being considered. District heating: The NHS’s 211 main emitters are each surrounded by an ecosystem of mental health and community facilities (over 1600 of them) that all need to get to Net Zero too. While district heating is not in itself necessarily any cleaner than any other heat source, there are a number of systems heated from burning waste or low carbon fuels, or which could use geothermal or hydrogen fuels, and these are being included in the programme.


Risk The strategy for managing risk is collaboration. Any single project to convert


30 Health Estate Journal May 2023


a site to Net Zero involves risks and costs. A standalone project must manage the risks itself, and while NHS Trusts are largely autonomous, the NHS shares big risks, and the NHPower programme is no different. While other collaborations may arise, the only current option for Net Zero collaboration in the NHS is NHPower.


Existing technologies and energy reduction methods This article does not discuss these, as the technologies are available, and every Trust understands the need for energy reduction improvements. There are now many heat pump installations, although they are being closely monitored, as the NHS has little experience of their resilience over time and in all weather.


Other benefits of collaboration It is clear that Net Zero will be very different to the current energy model. Instead of setting up controls once and just relying on boilers, Net Zero installations will require active management, and a programme of reducing temperatures over time. This calls for comprehensive energy management, which currently enjoys certain taxation benefits when carried out for a Trust, and can be included within the collaboration. Every Estates manager appreciates the benefits of a comprehensive and effective BMS system with good building insulation without air leaks. In the Net Zero world this will no longer be optional, to the benefit of all that use the hospital.


Part 2


Getting to Net Zero – programme delivery and managing risk


Clive Nattrass, CEF


Most NHS Trusts have an identified roadmap to Net Zero. The most commonly


Demand side reduction measures This list excludes demand side reduction measures and fabric improvements that are usually desirable, and to be encouraged, regardless of primary energy source, in order to promote efficient use. All of these options may be carbon compromised (e.g. electricity is not green now, there is no clean hydrogen, and biomass or waste burning is inherently carbon emitting). However, if we can leave the greening of the grid (electricity and hydrogen) with the related market stakeholders to solve, we can use any of the methods above to get NHS sites to Net Zero. The perceived blocker in funding can reliably use long-term revenue streams to fund the transition, and the remaining risks associated with the technology require focused management.


How do we manage risks and thus solve the funding issue? The first most common way to solve the funding constraint is to seek some form of governmental funding. That means hoping that the government will fund the conversion – and if it doesn’t work… well that is then considered to be the government’s problem. There are several grants currently available, and many projects running under just that premise. Consider the case of heat pumps; in the NHS there are few heat pumps of size that are not funded by grants. Many projects have not addressed the recurrent costs of running the technology and the impact to the annual revenue budgets. Market indicators suggest that a steady state is a number of years away, and no-one knows what is going to happen to electricity prices. There is a strong risk that most heat pumps will not be used in line with their grant applications. The second way of managing risks


is to pass them to the body best able to manage them. This is common with performance contracts, where it is possible to pass most of the risks associated with performance to a contractor, and most complex energy projects in the NHS are carried out this way. With nearly £1 bn


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