NET ZERO
annually across the NHS estate in England, even modest percentage improvements translate into meaningful savings. That is why the argument for eliminating energy waste is so compelling. It is not just about carbon reduction. It is about releasing trapped value from existing estates and redirecting that value back into patient care, estate resilience, and service improvement. Every delayed project leaves organisations exposed to
The NHS does not lack decarbonisation ambition.
Case study: Symphony Healthcare EPC In January 2026, eEnergy announced its first NHS award using this EPC structure with Symphony Healthcare Services Limited, a subsidiary of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. The contract covers LED lighting upgrades across 18 General Practitioner (GP) surgeries in Somerset, with a total contract value of around £0.7m. Its importance lies less in the contract size than in what it represents: a live NHS reference point for a model that might otherwise be viewed as theoretical. For procurement and estates teams, that matters because it helps move the discussion from concept to practical example. That first EPC award also sits within a wider pattern
John Gahan
John Gahan is CFO and interim CEO of eEnergy Group plc, a UK Energy- as-a-Service provider delivering funded energy- saving and energy- generating solutions across public and private sector estates. A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, John brings more than 30 years’ financial and commercial leadership experience across energy, technology, and growth businesses, including senior roles at KPMG, FTSE 100, AIM-listed, and private equity-backed organisations. As interim CEO, he is leading eEnergy with a focus on continuity, disciplined growth, cash generation, and funding structures that help customers deliver decarbonisation projects without upfront capital investment.
that matters to NHS decision-makers. Funded delivery models are easier to assess when they are backed by experience of working within NHS estates, procurement routes, and live healthcare environments. Previous projects delivered through NHS Energy Efficiency Fund awards show that this is not a new conversation for us, even if the EPC structure itself is new. The significance is not simply who has developed the model, but that it has been shaped with a practical understanding of how NHS organisations evaluate, approve, and deliver energy infrastructure projects in real-world settings. That reference point has wider value. In healthcare,
where governance is rigorous and operational continuity matters, new funding structures are more likely to be considered seriously when there is a live example alongside a broader delivery history. In that sense, the combination of an initial EPC scheme and earlier NHS projects through other funding routes gives procurement, estates, and finance teams something more concrete to assess.
Energy sustainability demands action now
It also points to something bigger. A first LED project is not only about lighting; it can also be the start of a wider decarbonisation pathway. The strategic value lies in creating a route that can scale from immediate waste reduction today into a broader programme covering solar PV, battery storage, EV charging, and wider estate modernisation over time. Set against today’s geopolitical backdrop, that becomes even more relevant. Energy price volatility is no longer an occasional disruption – it is becoming a structural feature of the operating environment. For large energy users, including the public sector, that means energy efficiency and on-site generation are no longer just ESG measures. They are a hedge against uncertainty. For the NHS, that point is hard-edged rather than theoretical. With more than 11 billion kWh consumed
86 Health Estate Journal September 2026
higher operating costs and further volatility in grid-supplied energy. A more efficient estate is not only a lower-carbon estate, but a more resilient and financially defensible one. It is also one that gives finance teams more confidence over future operating expenditure and gives estates teams more control over performance. This is why the debate should not be framed as public funding versus private funding. The NHS needs both. Government support remains important and should be welcomed, but it cannot be the only answer. When government funding is finite, competitive, or delayed, viable projects should not simply stop. NHS organisations need access to private sector models that are properly designed around healthcare realities, not imported from other sectors and forced awkwardly into place. That means a funding structure that protects scarce
capital rather than consumes it. In short, it should be a service arrangement rather than a conventional asset purchase, with payments linked to verified outcomes rather than fixed lease-like obligations. The funding route should be broader than solar alone, with a delivery model that includes not just design and installation, but aftercare, maintenance, performance reporting, and lifecycle accountability.
A fundable route for NHS decarbonisation The bigger point is this: the NHS does not lack decarbonisation ambition, and it does not lack proven technologies. What it has lacked is a sufficiently fundable route to move at pace without colliding with accounting, capital, and procurement barriers. That is why this approach is worth attention. Its
relevance lies in how closely it aligns with the constraints NHS organisations face: pressure on capital, sensitivity to accounting treatment, the need for payments to reflect performance, and the practical challenge of delivering more than a single-technology project. Backing that structure with access to funding scale and a live NHS reference point makes the proposition more tangible than a purely theoretical model. In a more volatile world, that combination becomes
strategically important. The NHS cannot control geopolitics or wholesale energy markets. However, it can decide how much avoidable waste it is prepared to tolerate across its estate, and how quickly it wants to move to reduce exposure. Decarbonisation, then, should be viewed in the right
light, not as a discretionary sustainability exercise, but as a practical route to lower waste, stronger resilience, and better control over future costs. The technology is there. The need is clear. The question for the NHS is whether it now has a fundable route to act.
Bibliography n NHS Digital. Estates Returns Information Collection: summary page and dataset for ERIC 2024/25. Leeds: NHS Digital. 16 Oct 2025
n NHS Digital. Estates Returns Information Collection: summary page and dataset for ERIC 2023/24. Leeds: NHS Digital. 19 Dec 2024
AdobeStock / TStudious
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