Milton Keynes University Hospital know that sustainability is core to the future development of the NHS and are on a journey to reduce their carbon emissions, with the aim of becoming net carbon zero by the end of the decade.
As part of this ambition, MKUH recently installed a significant number of solar panels across the hospital, increasing the energy that they generate on-site. So far, over 2,500 panels have been fitted to roofs in all areas of the estate, producing 853MWh (megawatt hours per year) – this is equivalent to the total power used in a year by 213 average homes. The areas that have been kitted out include the Treatment Centre, Eaglestone Health Centre and above wards 18 and 20.
Plans are further in place to increase the number of solar panels over the coming years which will see their current installation nearly double and ultimately generate more than 1.5GWh of free electricity from sunshine every year.
Through producing their own energy on-site, this significantly reduces the electrical costs and enables the trust to reinvest this funding back into the sustainable development of the estate, helping to improve patient care and experience.
Estates Services Manager, Tony Marsh, said: “The installation of new solar panels across the site presented the ideal opportunity for us to improve our energy optimisation. While the new panels will enable us to produce more electricity on-site, we further used this as a chance to upgrade the roofing so that it is future-proofed and more effectively insulated – reducing the energy required for heating and cooling these buildings.
“Solar energy is a fantastic way to successfully generate electricity which we are able to use throughout the year so that our patients are able to be seen and treated in a comfortable and secure environment.”
As well as the introduction of solar panels and as part of the Hospitals Green Plan, the Trust recently switched over to a completely renewable energy supplier.
You can find out more about the other things that we are doing to implement our Green Plan here.
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