This grant will allow the Trust to further reduce the carbon footprint of its five hospital sites by 1,100 tonnes annually. The funds will be used to begin a two-year heat decarbonisation project, connecting Bexley Wing and the Education Development and Training Centre, at the St James’s University Hospital site, to the low-carbon heat network which has a connection to Leeds PIPES. The works are due to start this year.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals has already connected 17 buildings to the low carbon heat network, which has been funded and developed throughout the previous phases of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. The Trust said: “The proportion of heat utilised from the Leeds PIPES network is a by-product of burning Leeds’s non-recyclable waste, which means it not only stops our waste from going to landfill, but also replaces reliance on fossil fuels, providing a greener alternative for Leeds Teaching Hospitals.”
Executive director of Estates and Facilities, Craige Richardson, said: “Leeds Teaching Hospitals is committed to creating a greener environment for our patients, staff, and visitors, and a more sustainable future for our local Leeds communities. We’re delighted to be able to further reduce our carbon footprint, and take another stride in our plan to becoming one of the UK’s greenest Trusts.”
Subject to further successful bids for external government funding, plans are also in place to connect more of the St James’s University Hospital estate to the low-carbon heat network, contributing to the further decarbonisation of the estate. The substantial grant has come from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Salix.
The photo shows the Bexley Wing at the St James’ University Hospital site.