Skip to main content

This site is best viewed with a modern browser. You appear to be using an old version of Internet Explorer.

New Energy Centre saves OUH £200,000 in first month

11/11/2017
This article is more than six years old.

The new Energy Centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital reduced NHS spending on energy bills by more than £200,000 in its first full month of operation.

These savings were revealed as Oxford East MP, Anneliese Dodds, carried out the official opening of the Centre on Friday 10 November to mark the culmination of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's £14.8 million Hospital Energy Project.

The Trust has received figures on energy usage at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals (excluding the PFI estates) for October.

In October 2016, OUH's energy bill for the two hospitals (excluding the PFI estates) was £484,175.03

In October 2017, the same bill was £252,832.27

This represents a saving of £231,343.03 in the first month's full service of the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system - £7,462 a day.

Dr Bruno Holthof, Chief Executive of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Today marks the culmination of two and a half years' work on site to remove our 30 year-old boilers at the John Radcliffe and Churchill and replace them with the infrastructure we need today and for the future.

"It is exceptionally good news that we are already seeing significant savings on our energy bills. These initial results are very encouraging but I would stress that these are only for the first month and so may not be representative of savings for a full year. We shall monitor future months' savings very closely.

Dr Holthof also thanked local residents - he said: "The Energy Link work through Headington caused disruption and the Trust is very grateful to residents for their support and understanding."

Claire Hennessy, Head of Operational Estates and Facilities Management for Oxford University Hospitals, said: "This is a new era of sustainable energy provision for the Trust. For the first time in decades, we are going into the winter with reliable heat and power, while also cutting our CO2 emissions and saving on our energy bills and backlog maintenance."

The Hospital Energy Project removed old boilers in the Churchill and John Radcliffe hospitals and replaced them with a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) engine, new combi boilers, Energy Link between the two hospitals, heat stations, updated and upgraded building management systems, and the replacement of 6,407 light fittings.  

This new energy and heating infrastructure will cut the Trust's CO2 output by 10,000 tonnes per year (the equivalent of 4,000 homes' CO2 emissions).

Mark Bristow, Lead Project Manager for the Hospital Energy Project at Oxford University Hospitals, said: "It is testament to the skill and commitment of everyone involved in this project that it was completed without interrupting patient care at either hospital. No outpatient appointments or operations were cancelled as a result of the works."

Ashley Malin, Project Development Director of Vital Energi - the Trust's commercial partners on the project - added: "In addition to the significant financial savings, this project also delivers significant benefits to the local community in lower CO2 emissions. 

"Vital Energi would also like to thank the many residents and councillors who gave us such support at our monthly liaison meetings - your involvement and local knowledge were very valuable, and you were enormously helpful."