{"id":1852,"date":"2026-04-09T08:41:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/?p=1852"},"modified":"2026-04-09T08:41:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T08:41:51","slug":"vital-energi-is-installing-over-15-000-solar-panels-to-help-green-wolverhampton-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/?p=1852","title":{"rendered":"Helping green Wolverhampton hospital through 15,200 panel solar farm"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff<\/p>\n<p><meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no\"><meta http-equiv=\"X-UA-Compatible\" content=\"IE=edge\"><meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\"><title>Solar Farm Installation for New Cross Hospital<\/title><meta name=\"description\" content=\"The new solar farm will save the Trust around \u00a315 \u2013 20m over the next 20 years which equates to around \u00a31m a year, money which will be put back into frontline healthcare.\"><meta name=\"keywords\" content=\"\"><meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index,follow\"><meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index,follow\"><meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\"><meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Solar Farm Installation for New Cross Hospital\"><meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"\"><meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"website\"><meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/press-releases\/vital-energi-is-installing-over-15-000-solar-panels-to-help-green-wolverhampton-hospital\/\"><meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Solar Farm Installation for New Cross Hospital\"><meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-case-study rte\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-case-study__wrap\">\n<p><span class=\"rich-text-pumps__text rte__text\">More than 15,000 electricity generating solar panels are being installed at a new city solar farm to help power the whole of New Cross Hospital and save 1,450 tonnes of carbon a year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, and project partners, including Vital Energi who is delivering the project, had to overcome a number of challenges, including badgers, methane, and anti-social behaviour, to prepare the brownfield site, which is more than 40 acres &#8211; the size of 22 football pitches.<\/p>\n<p>The panels, which will all be installed by October, are part of a multi-million-pound investment, provided by Salix Finance, a government-funded body, to help power the hospital for three quarters of the year \u2013 around 288 days of self-generated renewable energy.<\/p>\n<p>The new solar farm will save the Trust around \u00a315 \u2013 20m over the next 20 years which equates to around \u00a31m a year, money which will be put back into frontline healthcare.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"quote\">\n<div class=\"wrap quote__wrap\">\n<div class=\"swiper-container js-simple-quotes\">\n<div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"swiper-slide\">\n<div class=\"quote__holder\"><span class=\"quote__icon\"> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"36\" height=\"28\" viewbox=\"0 0 36 28\"><g fill=\"#F58220\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M12.319 0h3.648a2 2 0 0 1 1.838 2.788l-10.286 24A2 2 0 0 1 5.681 28H2.033a2 2 0 0 1-1.838-2.788l10.286-24A2 2 0 0 1 12.319 0zM30.319 0h3.648a2 2 0 0 1 1.838 2.788l-10.286 24A2 2 0 0 1 23.681 28h-3.648a2 2 0 0 1-1.838-2.788l10.286-24A2 2 0 0 1 30.319 0z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg> <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"quote__holder\">\n<p class=\"quote__text\">\u201cWe\u2019re working really hard to meet the Trust\u2019s and the NHS\u2019s target to reach net zero carbon by 2040 and this investment is a huge boost to help us achieve that. Our primary focus as a Trust is always on the patient and these works ensure the Trust saves money on future energy bills, which we can then subsequently invest across other healthcare services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"quote__author\"> Stew Watson, <span class=\"quote__position\"> Director of Estates Development at the Trust<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-case-study rte\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-case-study__wrap\">\n<p>Salix Finance provided the Trust with nearly \u00a310 million in 2021 and it recently received a further \u00a333 million to carry out green energy works as part of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy\u2019s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).<\/p>\n<p>Rob Gray, Project Manager from the CEF, said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of work has happened to get the site ready for the solar panels. Firstly, we had issues with the methane venting system, which is in place to release the gases from the waste material buried under the ground. Following surveys and an Environmental Agency inspection, the local authority undertook gas venting works and an additional drainage network was installed, to ensure water escaped correctly from the site to reduce standing water and flooding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFurther to the surveys and clearing the land of trees, we also had to protect the badger setts on site by creating exclusion zones within the project for the badgers to continue to inhabit. Once the land was cleared, we installed 24-hour security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/solar\/\" title=\"Solar\">solar panels<\/a> will power the air source heat pumps that are being installed at the hospital by Vital Energi, along with other energy efficiency measures including steam trap replacements, pipework insulation, LED lighting, window replacements, and controls updates.<\/p>\n<p>Work has also begun on the underground cabling which will connect the hospital to the solar farm.<\/p>\n<p>Helen Brindle, National Account Manager at Vital Energi explained the challenges of installing the one and a half miles of private wire from the solar site across the highway, a canal bridge and a busy road junction to the hospital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe underground cabling has to be dug through fields and the local highway from the solar farm to the hospital,\u201d said Helen. \u201cThis will take around four months to complete and will ensure a brand new clean, green energy source for the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jake Helliwell, from Salix Finance\u2019s NHS team, added:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStew and the team at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust are particularly determined to carry out these works to improve the energy supply of the hospital, reducing their bills in the process and freeing up resources to improve patient care. This project is particularly ambitious and time-pressured but the whole team\u2019s energy, knowledge and passion has been invaluable in overcoming various challenges with delivery. Working with them has been an absolute pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-image rte\" data-anchor=\"\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-image__wrap\">\n<div class=\"rich-text-image__img-holder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rich-text-image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/5bdjvker\/wolverhampton4.jpg?crop=0,0.13925925925925925,0,0.1038545131958305&amp;cropmode=percentage&amp;width=835&amp;height=474&amp;rnd=133027808030300000\" alt=\"Wolverhampton4\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/javascript:\" class=\"js-read-more-rte read-more-btn\">Solution detail<span class=\"btn__link font-ico-plus\"><\/span><span class=\"btn__link font-ico-minus\"><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-image rte\" data-anchor=\"\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-image__wrap\">\n<div class=\"rich-text-image__img-holder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rich-text-image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/rjyntpuf\/wolverhampton2.jpg?anchor=center&amp;mode=crop&amp;width=835&amp;height=474&amp;rnd=133027805561670000\" alt=\"Wolverhampton2\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/javascript:\" class=\"js-read-more-rte read-more-btn\">Solution detail<span class=\"btn__link font-ico-plus\"><\/span><span class=\"btn__link font-ico-minus\"><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-text-image rte\" data-anchor=\"\">\n<div class=\"wrap rich-text-image__wrap\">\n<div class=\"rich-text-image__img-holder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"rich-text-image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/media\/lz4hm1v4\/wolverhampton3.jpg?anchor=center&amp;mode=crop&amp;width=835&amp;height=474&amp;rnd=133027805737170000\" alt=\"Wolverhampton3\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vitalenergi.co.uk\/javascript:\" class=\"js-read-more-rte read-more-btn\">Solution detail<span class=\"btn__link font-ico-plus\"><\/span><span class=\"btn__link font-ico-minus\"><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ufeff Solar Farm Installation for New Cross Hospital More than 15,000 electricity generating solar panels are being installed at a new city solar farm to help power the whole of New Cross Hospital and save 1,450 tonnes of carbon a year. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, and project partners, including Vital Energi who is delivering [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"ve_media_section":[3],"ve_media_year":[],"ve_sector":[],"class_list":["post-1852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","ve_media_section-press-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1852"},{"taxonomy":"ve_media_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_media_section&post=1852"},{"taxonomy":"ve_media_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_media_year&post=1852"},{"taxonomy":"ve_sector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vitalenergi.creativespark.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fve_sector&post=1852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}