Hospital exceeds target savings for first CEF energy contract

Energy efficiency upgrades at Dublin’s Mater Misericordiae University Hospital have exceeded the target savings following the first year of operations. 

The results, including an additional €44k of savings,  were achieved after the extensive energy efficiency upgrades completed under the the first Carbon Energy Fund, CEF, contract for a hospital in Ireland.

The upgrades, delivered by global resource management company Veolia, are part of the 15 year Energy Infrastructure Project Agreement will reduce the hospital’s carbon footprint by approximately 72,000 tonnes, cut imported electricity from the national grid by 77%, and deliver €26 million in guaranteed energy and operational savings. 

At the end of Year 1, the data indicates savings of €1,565,759 have been achieved against planned guaranteed savings of €1,521,868, resulting in additional savings of €43,891. 

By 2025, the Mater Hospital is aiming to have moved energy efficiency gains from the current 37.2%, ahead of the 33% target set by the government, to over 50%. 

To meet the energy demand and achieve carbon savings of 35% Veolia’s specialist energy teams managed a wide range of energy efficiency projects covering the design, delivery, installation, commissioning of a range of energy upgrades. These included installation of 2,600m² of double-glazed windows, fitting 3,800 new energy efficient light fittings and a new 2MWe Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant to generate around 13.8 GWh of electricity a year. Supporting these measures is an upgraded Building Management System (BMS) covering the energy installations on the site, and managing the heat distribution through the 1.7km of installed district heating network that delivers heat to nine existing boiler houses across the campus.

Alan Sharp, CEO Mater Hospital said

“The energy project has delivered more than the savings we expected based on its current performance. We’re extremely thankful we took the decision to start this project, especially with concerns over energy supply and the increasing cost of energy.”

Fergus Elebert, Regional Director, Veolia Ireland added

“This project highlights the success of this approach for decarbonising the healthcare sector. A major element that contributed to the success of the infrastructure upgrades was the high level of teamwork between the Hospital’s facilities team, the medical teams, Veolia and the contractors and suppliers. We look forward to extending this success at the Mater as we move towards achieving a net zero goal.”

With a track record spanning 84 years in delivering energy management to healthcare, Veolia currently provides the energy services for around 110 hospitals across Ireland and the UK that support the care for nearly 10 million inpatients each year.