The Royal United Hospital has moved a step closer to its energy-efficiency goals following the delivery of equipment to upgrade the heating infrastructure at Combe Park.
The equipment being delivered at the Combe Park site | Photo © RUH
Over the weekend of 16th August, a crane was used to deliver the equipment, as part of the ongoing ‘Project Clean Heat’, which aims to make the RUH a greener, cleaner environment for all those who use it.
The changes have been made possible thanks to a £21.6 million grant from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, administered by Salix.
The grant will also help to fund other important building improvements such as additional solar panelling, better insulation, high-quality LED lighting, and more efficient heating controls.
Toni Lynch, Chief Nursing Officer, said: “This project has been many years in the planning, and we are delighted to see the equipment arrive on site.
“The environment and climate change has a direct impact on people’s health, and it’s really important that as a hospital, we act to reduce our carbon footprint for the benefit of our staff, patients, community, and wider society.
“We have got to this point thanks to a number of partner organisations: the Carbon Energy Fund (CEF), Salix, and Veolia.
“We are very grateful for their support to help us make these vital changes happen.”
Will Fairclough, Project Manager at CEF, added: “Project Clean Heat is making positive steps to delivering the whole PSDS project scope, funded by Salix. With the equipment arriving to site, this marks a huge milestone for the project.
“The project team continues to strive for the RUH Project Clean Heat to be a success and looks forward to integrating the heat pump units, as well as other new technologies, into the trust estate.”
John Abraham, Chief Operating Officer – Veolia UK & Ireland – Industrial, Water & Energy, said: “This weekend marked a major project milestone in our ongoing delivery of sustainable infrastructure upgrades as energy partner to the RUH.
“With the arrival of this new equipment, we can begin to replace the existing heating system with more energy efficient technology. This is just one part of our holistic whole building approach that will help reduce emissions by 45,000 tonnes over the life of the contract.”
A lot of work has already taken place to plan this project in recent years, and moving forward it will be more visible on the RUH site. As well as cranes bringing in equipment, visitors will see hoardings and scaffolding to enable work on the project to take place.
There will also be changes to parking and driving route arrangements while work takes place, which will be shared in advance via the RUH’s social media accounts.
Director of Public Sector Decarbonisation at Salix, Ian Rodger, said: “It’s important that we celebrate these key milestones in projects, especially when the teams have worked so hard to get to this stage and put so much effort into getting the planning right so that these critical stages are delivered on time.
“They still have some time to go and we’re proud to continue to support the RUH’s ambitions to reach net zero.
“They are not only creating a better environment for patients, staff and the community but this project is expected to save the hospital significant tonnes of carbon every year.
“This is better for all of us, and certainly for our planet.”
The improvements are due to be completed in 2026, and from then they will save the hospital around 3,212 tonnes of carbon every year – the equivalent of more than 14,500 return journeys from Bath to Edinburgh in the average petrol car.
