NCH&C receives £1.2m from to install solar panels across seven sites
Norfolk Community Health & Care NHS Trust (NCH&C) will save money on its energy bills, thanks to new solar panels funded by Great British Energy.
In September, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced up to £75 million of investment from Great British Energy and the government for multiple military sites, and more schools and NHS trusts, to roll out solar panels.
NCH&C has now been awarded £1.2m to install solar panels at across seven sites - the largest number of sites to benefit from the latest investment.
NCH&C will use the funding to install solar panels at Colman Hospital, Dereham Community Hospital, Kelling Community Hospital, North Walsham War Memorial Hospital, Norwich Community Hospital, Parkview Resource Centre in King's Lynn, and Swaffham Community Hospital. The 679,362 KWH of solar panels across seven sites will save help NCH&C save money on its energy bills that can be spent on patient care.
Matthew Winn, CEO at Norfolk Community Health & Care NHS Trust, said:
"Action on climate change is imperative for the health of our patients, so we are delighted to receive this funding from the Great British Energy solar panel scheme. With this £1.2m, we look forward to installing solar panels across seven of our sites as we support the NHS on its mission to be the world's first net-zero health service by 2040."
The £1.2m of solar funding follows a further £92,184 NCH&C received in the summer as part of the NHS Chargepoint Accelerator scheme, a combined effort from the Department of Transport and the Department for Health and Social Care. The funding will provide the hardware and installation of 22 charge points at sites across the Trust, which will be provided specifically for NHS owned or leased vehicles.
The NHS is the single biggest public sector energy user, with an estimated annual energy bill of around £1.3 billion, that has almost doubled since 2019.
Thanks to Great British Energy, the 34 trusts awarded funding today will see estimated combined lifetime energy bill savings of up to £65 million over the next 30 years, to be reinvested in frontline services.
In total, Great British Energy's solar scheme is now worth up to £255 million, supporting around 250 schools, around 260 NHS sites and around 15 military sites across the country.