Green light for low carbon initiatives

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) has been awarded £1.4 million in funding from the NHS National Energy Efficiency Fund (NEEF). The money is for two energy efficiency schemes that will help reduce our carbon footprint at RCHT and deliver considerable financial savings on energy use.    

£1.1 million has been allocated to provide more than 8,300 additional LED lights to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, St Michael’s Hospital, and Marie Therese House. This includes wireless automated self-testing emergency lighting. A further £300,000 grant is for Solar PV (Photovoltaic) panels. These will enable us to install more than 900 roof panels to generate electricity across all three sites, at Royal Cornwall Hospital, West Cornwall Hospital, and St Michael’s Hospital.

Mike Horrocks, Senior Project Manager, and Major Capital Projects’ sustainability champion said: “This funding is fantastic news in terms of helping RCHT on its sustainability journey and in achieving our green goals. The additional LED lights will mean that most of the hospital site in Truro (except the Princess Alexandra Wing) will benefit from LED lighting, improving energy efficiencies by up to 60%. The upgrades not only help reduce our carbon emissions, but also bring down maintenance and energy costs.”

The work for both schemes should be completed by July 2025.