Big savings for hospital powered solely by the sun

A HOSPITAL has become the first in the UK to be powered entirely by renewable energy after it installed more than 11,000 solar panels on its land.

The £4.2m grant-funded installation at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, East Yorkshire, covers the size of 14 football pitches. Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust, which runs the hospital, said the scheme meant the trust was currently saving about £250,000 a month.

Work, which began in September amid plans to generate a third of the total energy requirements of the hospital, was completed in February. Due to the start of British Summer Time, the panels are generating the equivalent to the average daily energy needs of 3,250 UK households.

The trust, which also runs Hull Royal Infirmary, said this is enough to meet the daytime needs of the entire hospital, with output expected to double during summer.

It is also replacing 20,000 lights across both sites with LED bulbs and is to insulate buildings and install pumps to cut costs.

Alex Best, head of capital for the trust, said: “Our aim has always been to generate enough electricity to make the hospital site self-sufficient in the summer months when the days are longer.

“And now that the clocks have gone forward, the panels are generating around 26MWh per day so far in May, and are anticipated to rise to a peak summer load of 50 MWh per day.

“Not only does this represent a significant contribution towards our plan to become carbon neutral by 2030, but the project is also saving us a significant amount of money on hospital energy bills; approximately £250,000 to £300,000 every month.”

The project, dubbed the ‘Field of Dreams’, is part of the trust’s campaign to tackle the NHS’s impact on climate change.