‘Field of Dreams’: Hospitals trust unveils solar field in drive to beat national emissions target
COMMITMENT: The solar field under construction at Castle Hill Hospital
Hospitals in Hull plan to beat Government targets for carbon reduction and become net zero by 2030.
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has published its ZeroThirty Strategy and Green Plan, seeking to become carbon neutral up to 15 years earlier than the targets set by the Department of Health.
The trust’s flagship project is its £4.5m ‘Field of Dreams’, a solar field comprising 11,000 panels over almost 8 hectares, which is under construction now. By the summer of 2022, it is expected to be generating enough energy to supply the whole of the Castle Hill Hospital site in Cottingham where it is based.
It is just one of a number of initiatives, planned or underway, which hospital bosses hope will put Hull at the forefront of the green movement within the NHS.
The trust is already in the final stages of a relighting project, replacing over 20,000 traditional bulbs across its estate with LEDs, and putting the finishing touches to building insulation work which is predicted to save the trust around 15 per cent in energy use.
An aerial view of the solar field
The trust has also set itself ambitious targets to:
Send nothing to landfill by 2025
Reduce anaesthetic gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2025
Slash building emissions in half by 2028
Trust chief executive Chris Long said: “In 2020, our trust declared a climate emergency. While our recent focus has been very much about protecting patients, staff and the public in the face of a global pandemic, we in the NHS must not lose sight of the imminent health emergency that climate change could bring; more intense storms and floods, more frequent heatwaves, and the wider spread of infectious diseases.
“As a major employer in the city and a major contributor to carbon emissions, we recognise we have a huge role to play when it comes to climate change.
“Not only must we take steps to reduce our own carbon footprint, but we also have a role in influencing and encouraging others to do the same, whether that’s through the suppliers we contract with, the people and partners we work with, and even the patients we care for.
“The publication of our ZeroThirty strategy and Green Plan today is a bold statement of intent, representing our commitment to work towards a greener, healthier planet, now and for the generations to come.”
Marc Beaumont, head of sustainability for the trust said: “Climate change and the impact of it is particularly important for this region. With 90 per cent of Hull being below the high tide line, the advent of sea level rise means Hull potentially is at real risk.
“That’s why it’s so important that we work on projects like our solar field to help reduce our impact on the environment, reduce our carbon emissions and help slow the pace of climate change down.
“The Field of Dreams is a great visual indicator of the trust’s intent to achieve net zero, and will hopefully help the local community as well by improving awareness of the availability of renewable technology, renewable energy sources, and the trust’s ZeroThirty ambitions.”
Current NHS guidance asks all health service organisations to become net zero in respect of the carbon emissions they directly control by 2040, and those they can influence by 2045.
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is aiming to become the first hospital trust in England to reach zero carbon emissions by 2030.
The NHS as a whole produces 5.4 per cent of the UK’s total carbon emissions - equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of 11 coal-fired power stations.