New contract with Veolia targets savings of €26 million and 118,000 tonnes of carbon.

St James’s Hospital has signed the Energy Performance Contract (EPC) with Veolia in partnership with the Carbon and Energy Fund Ireland (CEFI).

Wide range of energy upgrades

Under the EPC agreement, Veolia will manage projects covering the design, delivery, installation, commissioning and operation of a wide range of energy upgrades in the 1,010-bed hospital.

The 20-year contract was awarded to Veolia after a competitive public tendering process and the EPC implementation is the largest of its kind in Irish healthcare to date.

L-R: Edel Wyse, director of operations at the Carbon and Energy Fund Ireland; John Lambe, business development manager at Veolia; Kyle Wylie, engineering manager at St James's Hospital; and Vincent Callan, director of facilities at St James’s Hospital (front)

The contract will deliver €26 million in guaranteed energy and operational savings. The hospital’s carbon footprint will be reduced by approximately 118,380 tonnes, cutting electrical consumption by 26% per annum.

The new energy efficient equipment will also reduce the dependency on the Dublin 8 electrical grid and places the hospital in an optimum position to reach its 2030 climate targets.  

Water boilers, lighting and air conditioning units

The contract will include the replacement of water boilers, lighting and air conditioning units and will provide combined heat and power (CHP) solutions for the hospital.

These will include a new Energy Centre containing a 2MWe combined heat and power (CHP) plant which will generate around 13GWh of low carbon electricity a year and cut carbon emissions by 2,574 tonnes.

To maximise heat efficiency 7.5 MWth of new hot water, steam boilers and clean steam generators will meet the hot water, steam and sterilisation demand, and a new campus-wide Building Management System will maximise energy efficiency across all of the buildings and provide centralised monitoring. 

Other upgrades include the installation of energy efficient LED lighting across the campus, new theatre air handling units, air conditioning and high efficiency pumps.

Comprehensive maintenance service

The energy saving measures will be guaranteed by Veolia who will also provide a comprehensive maintenance service for the duration of the 20-year contract. The installation works commenced in July 2020 and will be completed by December 2021.

Mary Day, CEO of St James’s Hospital, said: “The hospital has always been committed to innovation and the Energy Performance Contract allows us to lead the way as a sustainable healthcare provider, while continuing to provide a safe environment for our patients and staff.”

John Abraham, chief operating officer, industrial, water and energy UK, country director for Ireland, said: “At Veolia Ireland, we are delighted to undertake this project at St James’s Hospital to improve energy efficiency and cut carbon emissions.

"This is a perfect example of the importance of investing in energy-efficient and low carbon systems, and we look forward to working with St James’s Hospital to help towards achieving its environmental targets.”

Externally funded

The project will be externally funded by the Ireland Energy Efficiency Fund (IEEF), and ethical Irish pension fund investors, and managed by Sustainable Development Capital LLP. 

IEEF’s involvement allows for the transfer of investment risk and the delivery of guaranteed energy savings with demonstrable environmental and carbon savings for the hospital.

Jon Gwynn, Carbon and Energy Fund Ireland, said: “It is great to see a hospital as significant as St James’s Hospital embark on a major energy efficiency project such as this one which was procured through the Carbon and Energy Fund Procurement framework.

"This can only be achieved through collaboration and true partnership with our industry partners, Veolia and the CEF. St James’s Hospital is delighted to be leading the way as a sustainable healthcare provider.”

With 1,010 beds St. James’s Hospital is one of the largest public hospitals in Ireland, dedicated to the delivery of health treatment, care and diagnosis as well as health promotion and preventative services.

It is also the largest teaching hospital in Ireland and is the major teaching partner of Trinity College Dublin with which it shares the largest clinical research facility in Ireland. 

Delivering energy management to hospitals since 1938, Veolia currently provides the services that cover around 43,000 hospital beds in the UK and Ireland and supports the energy requirements for about 8.1 million inpatients each year.

This increases sustainability of the healthcare sector by annually saving over 120,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.