NHS Energy Efficiency Projects - Green Investment Bank financial support

The Green Investment Bank (GIB) yesterday published a report "A healthy saving: energy and the NHS". The Report sets out the scale of the opportunity for making financial savings through energy efficiency projects and the ways in which GIB can provide financial support to NHS organisations.

The NHS spends more than £750 million on energy costs each year and is actively exploring ways to both reduce energy use and save money.  In response, GIB has created the Health Sector Energy Efficiency Financing Programme to help NHS Trusts finance energy efficiency measures. 

The Report identifies that investment in energy efficiency could provide the NHS with more reliable and resilient systems that would significantly reduce costs and operating risks. GIB estimates that the capital investment requirement in the NHS estate could be up to £1.5 billion.

Due to the diversity of the needs and complexity of the NHS estate, GIB is aware that there is no "one size fits all" and has accordingly identified a number of financing solutions for the sector.  These include:

• the use of GIB backed Energy Efficiency Funds with SDCL and Equitix
• the Societe Generale Equipment Finance alliance
• the Aviva ReALM Energy Centre Fund
• direct GIB funding.

The Report explains that by introducing energy efficiency measures such as combined heat and power systems, LED lighting, heating, ventilation and control systems and biomass boilers, GHG emissions could be quickly cut by 25 per cent. 

Bevan Brittan has unrivalled expertise on energy efficiency projects in this sector and have been involved with all the above technologies. In the last 15 years, we have advised both public and private sector clients on over 20 NHS Energy Efficiency Projects. 

Our team advised on one of the Case Studies referred to in the Report - the Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire. This project anticipates delivering projected financial savings of around £112,000 per annum for the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.

Future projects in this sector are anticipated to be delivered through:

• Frameworks - including the Carbon and Energy Fund, RE:FIT,  Essentia or Ecovate
• direct OJEU procurements, or
• variations to signed PFI or PPP arrangements.

We are familiar with all these approaches to delivering projects in this sector. 

If you are an NHS Trust seeking to procure an Energy Efficiency Project or a private sector player active in this market who requires legal assistance on the delivery of opportunities, please see the contact details below.