A landmark decarbonisation programme at Nottingham City Hospital has brought coal-fired heating to an end across the NHS estate.
The work was delivered by Vital Energi, which has completed a two-phase, £34.8m project to replace the hospital’s ageing coal and gas boiler infrastructure with a new energy centre, air source heat pumps, solar PV panels, and over 6,600 LED lighting fittings.
A second phase added a 400kW air source heat pump system serving the Maternity and Urology departments, a 160kW waste heat recovery water source heat pump, and a full sitewide Building Management System (BMS) upgrade integrating all systems under a single, modernised controls platform.
Both phases were funded through the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), administered by Salix Finance. Across both phases of the programme, the project has delivered carbon savings of 16,023 tonnes.
All works were carried out in a fully operational acute hospital. The managed transition from the old coal-fired boiler house to the new energy centre – cutting and restoring the hospital’s primary heat source – required precise planning at every stage. Demolition works included two chimney stacks. LED upgrades were installed across live wards and clinical areas, and plant room work was scheduled out of hours with each task timed to ensure no system was offline longer than could be safely permitted.
John Runniff, account development director at Vital Energi, said: “Nottingham City Hospital was the last hospital in the UK still burning coal, and that chapter is now closed. This was a multifaceted project which required the team to use their broad range of skills to complete. Delivering in a live acute hospital adds a layer of complexity that very few contractors are equipped for, and that expertise is something we’ve built over decades.
“What makes this especially satisfying is that the results speak for themselves. The savings have been independently verified and we derisked our heating system both primarily plant and the heating distribution system and take the first steps for de-steaming the hospital, a key necessity to achieve the Trust’s Net Zero Carbon target. The hospital now has modern, resilient energy infrastructure built to last.”
Alberto Jaume, programme manager of decarbonisation schemes at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, commented: “This landmark project was an important part of moving us away from relying on coal and gas energy and towards clean energy and our ambitious 2040 Net Zero Carbon Goal.
“We are pleased with the vast reduction of our City Hospital’s carbon footprint, and the cost savings that this decarbonisation has brought to the Trust.
“Most importantly, the decarbonisation of our City Hospital site and the investment in the behind-the-scenes management systems has enabled us to create more comfortable environments for our patients and staff, both today and for generations to come.”
