NHS Trust to make £500,000 investment in clean energy on the Isle of Wight following funding boost
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust will receive just under £500,000 (£495,000) of funding to support clean energy upgrades on the Isle of Wight, further reducing energy bills and creating savings that can be reinvested into frontline services.
This month the Government announced that eighty-two NHS trusts will receive a share of £74 million to adopt clean energy technologies and improve their energy efficiency.
The Trust will use the money to install around 200 solar panels and battery solutions at the Sevenacres inpatient mental health unit on the St Mary's Hospital site. The panels will cover an area of 570 square meters and generate enough energy to power 50 homes for a year whilst saving an estimated 26 tonnes of Carbon emissions annually.
Heather Mitchell, Director of Population & Health Equity & Trust Lead for the Delivery of the Green Plan, said: "We are delighted to receive funding to advance our net zero commitment through the installation of solar panels. Not only will this save money for the Trust which can be reinvested in frontline care, but in creating greener and cleaner environments for our residents, we will do our part in mitigating the impact of climate change on health.”
Once installed, the panels should generate around 148,146 kWh a year of renewable energy and save the Trust around £26,000 annually. This money will be invested back into frontline care and services. With the Trust serving a population of around 2 million people across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, countless patients, families and communities will benefit from the savings.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “With lower bills for hospitals, better value for money, and a cleaner, more efficient NHS, everybody wins.
“Every penny of these savings will be redirected straight back into frontline care and delivering an NHS patients, staff and the whole country can be proud of again. This investment will help us build an NHS fit for the future.”
More than £9 million of the funding will be delivered in partnership with Great British Energy (GBE) for batteries and solar panels, building on the publicly owned energy company’s £255 million investment in solar power for hospitals, schools and military sites last year.