NET ZERO
buildings into productive assets; ground-mount arrays can unlock value from available land; and carport solar PV can generate power while also improving parking environments and supporting EV charging infrastructure. For large, distributed estates, this flexibility matters. Battery storage adds another layer of strategic value. It can improve resilience, help manage peak demand, support self-consumption of generated power and strengthen the overall economics of on-site generation. In an environment where energy price volatility is becoming more frequent, that capability is increasingly valuable. EV charging is also moving from optional to expected.
NHS organisations are increasingly thinking about fleet transition, staff charging, visitor infrastructure, and the long- term role of electrified transport across their estates. That makes EV charging less of a standalone add-on and more of a future-facing element of infrastructure planning.
A model built for NHS governance and approvals This is what makes the funded delivery model more relevant to procurement and estates teams than another generic ‘no upfront cost’ claim. The real issue is not whether a supplier can say there is no upfront payment. What matters is whether the structure reduces friction in approvals, aligns to NHS governance and allows projects to be delivered in full, rather than compromised to fit whatever capital happens to be available. The model is designed to support multi-site rollout through standardised documentation, capped exposure per site or project, agreed baselines, and measurement and verification set up in advance. In other words, it is trying to solve not just funding, but the governance burden that comes with funded delivery across complex, live estates. The governance point is critical. NHS estates are not simple commercial portfolios. Projects often must be delivered across live environments with minimal disruption, clear accountability, robust health and safety, stakeholder management, commissioning discipline, and reliable reporting. A funding model that only solves the financing piece, but not the practical delivery and governance piece, is only half a solution. This is where lifecycle thinking also becomes important.
Protecting capital over the long term Too often the conversation stops at installation, whereas in reality that is only the halfway point of the lifecycle. Healthcare organisations need confidence that deployed assets will continue to perform, that savings will be evidenced, that maintenance is clear, and that accountability does not disappear the moment the system is switched on. That is why operation and maintenance services, performance reporting, optimisation, and long- term support are not optional extras. They are central to protecting the original business case. In healthcare, this matters even more. Estates teams are not simply buying equipment, they are securing outcomes in environments where uptime, safety, governance, and continuity matter. If a Trust commits time and internal effort to getting a project approved, it is reasonable to expect that the delivery partner remains accountable for performance over the long term. That is one of the reasons an integrated EPC structure can be more useful than a narrower funding product – and why the first live reference matters so much.
EV charging should be an integral element of infrastructure planning.
September 2026 Health Estate Journal 85
AdobeStock / Kalyakan
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