Tag Archives: South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust

New solar array at Warwick Hospital

Community Energy Warwickshire has doubled the size of its solar PV arrays at Warwick Hospital after installing another 50 kWp array on the top of the new Beauchamp/Greville/Thomas ward block.

The installation was organised and completed in just over two months to help South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, the owner of Warwick Hospital, to discharge a planning requirement for the new building.

After agreeing to take on the project in early October 2015, Community Energy Warwickshire specified and tendered the project, raised over £55,000 in new share capital, and appointed Eco2solar to undertake the work. With Government changes to Feed-in Tariff rates imposing tight deadlines, Eco2solar completed the installation just before Christmas.

“We are pleased we have been able to help the Trust discharge its planning obligations – and to increase the amount of solar PV capacity locally,” said Community Energy Warwickshire’s Chair, Keith Sinfield. “The Government’s plans to make major reductions to Feed-in Tariffs made it vital that we moved quickly to ensure the project was financially viable – and we are grateful to all those who invested in the project at such short notice.”

The new array brings the total solar PV capacity installed on hospitals run by South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust to 170 kWp.

Celebrate the sun!

Community Energy Warwickshire members will be celebrating the sun on Saturday 25 October, when they gather at Leamington Spa Hospital to mark the successful installation of two arrays of solar panels on local hospitals.

A large 50 kWp array has been installed at Leamington Spa Hospital and a smaller 10 kWp array on a new office building on the site of Warwick Hospital as part of Community Energy Warwickshire’s Solar-powered Hospitals project. The project started in 2011, when solar panel arrays were installed on roofs at Stratford on Avon and Warwick Hospitals. The new arrays double the size of the project.

The installations have been paid for by the members of Community Energy Warwickshire, who have bought shares in the co-operative with members being paid a return of 3 per cent on their share holding. South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, which owns the hospitals, benefits from cheap electricity from the solar panels.

“We are pleased to be able to celebrate the successful completion of our second major installation of solar panels with those who have helped make it possible,” said Keith Sinfield, Chair of Community Energy Warwickshire. “Community Energy Warwickshire aims to benefit communities in the county through investment in local sustainable energy projects.”

The celebration will take place at 11.00 am on Saturday 25 October at Leamington Spa Hospital, Heathcote Lane, Warwick CV34 6RS. For more details, contact Community Energy Warwickshire on 01789 290736 or at info@cew.coop.

Solar-powered hospitals complete first year

Community Energy Warwickshire’s solar-powered hospitals project, which saw 60 kWp of solar panels installed on roofs at Stratford upon Avon and Warwick hospitals, has completed its first year. And despite the poor weather during summer 2012, the panels have generated over 56,000 kW hours since installation – enough to save 28 tonnes of carbon.

The monthy records show the pattern of the local weather over the past 12 months – a sunny March followed by a dull April, a brighter May followed by a very dull June. The best day for generation for the larger 50 kWp array at Warwick Hospital was Saturday 26 May, when 345 units were generated – and the end of May was especially sunny, with 2,232 units generated in the week from 22 May to 28 May. At the other extreme, heavy cloud and snow prevented any generation at all at Warwick on 21 January 2013 – the middle of a week in which just 11 units were generated in total.

Community Energy Warwickshire director Roger Matthews, who has been monitoring the output over the last year, said there had been great fluctuations in generation day by day. “Last summer’s weather was recognised as particularly poor, and we had few periods of any length when the sun shone consistently. Despite this, the panels generated above their factory specification and have already made a contribution to saving carbon for the hospitals.”

Following the installation of the solar panels at Stratford and Warwick Hospitals, Community Energy Warwickshire has been working with South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, which owns the two hospitals, on energy saving sessions for Trust staff. The energy co-operative is also looking at a number of possible follow-on projects.

Energy Savers at Warwick Hospital

Community Energy Warwickshire has successfully run the first of a series of Energy Savers sessions for staff at Warwick Hospital.

The two hour sessions aim to help people to find out more about the range of ways in which they can save energy in their home – and to see how they can do this in practice!

Each session includes a talk on energy costs and ways to reduce them from David Jullien, Chief Executive of Act on Energy, the energy efficiency advice service for Warwickshire, as well as practical exercises to help participants see what changes might help them to save energy – and cut their fuel bills.

The sessions conclude with suggestions about ways in which staff might save energy at work – and so help Warwick Hospital cut its energy costs.

The sessions are part of a link up between Community Energy Warwickshire and South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, the body which runs Warwick Hospital. As part of this link up, Community Energy Warwickshire installed solar panels on roofs at Warwick and Stratford hospitals earlier this year.

Roger Matthews from Community Energy Warwickshire, who has helped organise the Energy Savers sessions, says: “When Community Energy Warwickshire installed solar panels on the roofs of Stratford and Warwick hospitals, it was the first time an NHS Trust had worked on energy improvements with a local community organisation. We are now taking this working relationship a stage further by supporting the Trust’s efforts to reduce energy use and energy bills through our offer of Energy Savers sessions to Trust staff.”

Further Energy Savers sessions are planned in December and in the new year.

AGM approves a successful year

Members of Community Energy Warwickshire heard of the sucesses of the last year at the co-op’s 2012 Annual General Meeting, held in Leamington Spa on Tuesday 22 May 2012.

Co-op Secretary Barbara Cooper recalled that at the 2011 Annual General Meeting “we did not even have a bank account”. But in the last year, Community Energy Warwickshire has successfully installed 60 kWp of solar panels at roofs at Stratford upon Avon and Warwick Hospitals, thanks to an innovative agreement with South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospitals.

Funding for the installations was raised through a share offer which raised over £100,000, and the project also involved the development of a new template for solar panel leases, which is now available to other community groups. Co-op members also heard how the project had to navigate the uncertainties created by the Government’s attempts to cut feed-in tariffs for solar energy installations.

Following the installation of the solar panels, the co-op has carried out an initial feasibility study of hte use of local food waste to generate energy through anaerobic digestion and it is launching an Energy Savers scheme to help households reduce energy consumption in the home. Community Energy Warwickshire’s newly expanded Board will be developing plans for future projects over the summer.

Community Energy Warwickshire is also a finalist in this year’s Renewable Energy Association awards.

Trust members hear solar panel plans

Members of South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust heard more about Community Energy Warwickshire’s plans to install solar panels on the roofs of local hospitals at the Trust’s Annual General Meeting on 19 July 2011 in Warwick.

Trust Chief Executive Glen Burley highlighted the proposal during his presentation of the Trust’s Annual Report to the meeting, and Finance Director David Moon later pointed to the way that rising energy costs were affecting the Trust’s finances.

Trust members were also able to collect information and ask questions at a Community Energy Warwickshire stall, where a number signed up to receive more information about the forthcoming issue of community shares to fund the installation.

And Trust members generally will be able to read more about Community Energy Warwickshire and the hospitals’ project in the latest issue of the Trust’s magazine The Pulse.

Government minister endorses solar power plan for hospitals

Innovative plans for community involvement in the installation of solar panels at Stratford and Warwick hospitals have been praised by Government energy minister, Greg Barker.

The plans, announced last week by Community Energy Warwickshire and South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, would see 70 kilowatts of solar panels installed on selected roofs at the hospitals. Community Energy Warwickshire will be raising the finance for the panels, which will supply the hospitals with reduced price electricity.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday 7 July in reply to a question from Warwick and Leamington MP Chris White, Mr Barker said the scheme was “exactly the kind of project delivered through exactly the kind of partnership that we need to see nore of.”

Keith Sinfield, Community Energy Warwickshire’s chair, said: “We are currently working with the hospitals to organise the installation of the solar panels, and we will shortly be inviting local people to invest in the scheme through a community shares offer.”

The scheme will also see Community Energy Warwickshire promoting opportunities for energy saving with hospital staff. Community Energy Warwickshire’s long-term plans are to work with local communities to help them switch to renewable energy as well as to save energy and cut fuel bills.

Solar powered hospitals get go ahead

South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust has formally agreed to Community Energy Warwickshire’s proposal for the installation of solar panels on roofs at Stratford upon Avon and Warwick hospitals.

The solar panels will provide electricity at a discount to the Trust as well as helping it to reduce its carbon footprint. Community Energy Warwickshire will also be working with the Trust to encourage staff and visitors to help the hospitals to cut their energy costs as part of a programme of energy saving activities.

Funds for the scheme, which is believed to be the first time the NHS has worked with the local community to install solar power at hospitals, will be raised by offering people shares in Community Energy Warwickshire.

Jayne Blacklay, Director of Development at the Trust, said “We are excited to work with Community Energy Warwickshire on this project. It will help us further reduce our carbon footprint, and we will be working with Community Energy Warwickshire to engage our staff in continuing to contribute to the Trust’s carbon reduction programme.”

For Community Energy Warwickshire, Chair Keith Sinfield said: “The agreement with the Trust will launch the first major community development of renewable energy in south Warwickshire and will help us to offer opportunities to local people to save energy and cut fuel costs.”