AN AVERAGE US HOSPITAL USES 31 KILOWATT-HOURS OF ELECTRICITY AND 103,600 BRITISH THERMAL UNITS OF NATURAL GAS PER SQUARE FOOT ANNUALLY .
F E A T U R E
AN AVERAGE US HOSPITAL USES 31 KILOWATT-HOURS OF ELECTRICITY AND 103,600 BRITISH THERMAL UNITS OF NATURAL GAS PER SQUARE FOOT ANNUALLY .
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust set itself an ambitious target to be net zero by 2030 , supporting the wider NHS ’ s plan to become the world ’ s first carbon net zero national health service .
In May 2022 , the organisation celebrated a milestone : solar panels it had installed in a nearby field were now capable of generating enough electricity to meet Castle Hill Hospital ’ s entire daytime running needs during the summer months .
Alex Best , Head of Capital at Hull University Teaching Hospitals , said : “ We were lucky enough to receive a Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant from the Government in November 2020 which enabled us to embark upon an ambitious project to install solar panels nearby .
“ 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 that ’ s not all . By working with a local shepherding family , a flock of 51 sheep are being used to manage grass cutting on the field where the solar panels are located , which costs one-sixth of what it would cost mechanically , enhance biodiversity , and show how renewable technology can work with traditional farming .
The 11,000-panel solar farm – funded through a grant of £ 4.2 million – means that during the summer the organisation was saving about £ 250,000 a month in energy bills . The panels will generate more than 4.2 million kilowatt hours every 12 months , approximately the same as powering 1,400 UK households a year .
The electricity generated is enough to meet the daytime running needs of the entire hospital .
Alex Best added : “ It ’ s incredible to think that the power used to support many life-saving surgical procedures , and to keep our intensive care unit running , is all completely selfgenerated , green electricity .”
34 www . intelligenthealth . tech