E.ON and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust have announced a 15-year agreement to upgrade and manage the Queen's Medical Centre's (QMC) on-site power plant, as well as introduce an energy efficiency programme that will guarantee dramatic reductions in energy use and make guaranteed savings in the region of £2.8 million.

The project will see E.ON working with the hospital's support services and construction partner, Interserve, to upgrade the QMC campus's combined heat and power plant - which generates heat and hot water as well as electricity for use across the site - as well as install energy saving measures including boiler optimisation technology, low energy LED lighting and building energy management controls.

The improvements will be delivered through the NHS SBS Carbon and Energy Fund (CEF) procurement framework under an Energy Performance Contract (EPC) which means the investment in new technologies can be carried out with no upfront cost to the hospital and will be paid back through the savings which have been guaranteed by E.ON.


The energy saving and conservation measures are guaranteed to bring savings in the region of £2.8 million a year by reducing energy costs and carbon emissions.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) assistant head of estates Andrew Camina said: "At NUH we are committed to doing all we can to save energy and reduce our carbon emissions. We are delighted to be working with E.ON and Interserve to do what we can to reduce energy costs and emissions and look at more innovative ways of reducing energy use."

The measures are expected to deliver carbon reduction of 16,000 tonnes and cost savings of £2.8 million a year across the Trust, based on current pricing levels. An EPC allows an organisation to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings without having to raise the upfront capital itself, instead paying back the initial investment through the cost savings guaranteed in the agreement.

The upgraded equipment, combined with the new energy saving measures, will help the QMC Trust comply with new EU environmental regulations regarding greenhouse gas emissions and go towards nationwide NHS targets of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.

(CD/MH)