MEDIA RELEASE: NBMLHD ECOSAVE: Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District partners with Ecosave for energy savings
Ecosave, one of Australia’s largest independent energy services companies was selected by Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD) for its Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) requirements.
The performance-based contract agreement will deliver $6.7 million of energy efficiency upgrades across Nepean, Lithgow, Blue Mountains, Springwood, and Portland hospitals over the next two years.
Robin Archibald, Ecosave Group Managing Director, believes that healthcare providers play a pivotal role in achieving the NSW Government’s sustainability targets.
The partnership between NBMLHD and Ecosave is an important milestone in assisting the NSW Government to reach its Net Zero emissions target by 2050,
says Mr Archibald.
Over the next two years, the EPC aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and annual grid electricity usage by implementing high-efficiency lighting, lighting controls, solar panels, submetering, and monitoring of building analytics.
“The EPC is estimated to reduce NBMLHD’s carbon footprint by 22% and achieve emissions reductions of 5,442 tonnes CO2-e per year, which is equivalent to removing more than 1,000 cars off the road,” Mr Archibald says.
The project includes installation of more than 10,000 LED luminaires and design and implementation of more than 1,000 kW of solar PV across the portfolio.
Mr. Archibald points out that the EPC can significantly help NBMLHD overcome barriers to achieving energy cost savings and emissions reduction.
“EPCs allow facility managers and building owners to replace aging assets with brand-new ones by using the energy savings to pay for the upgrades. With our technical expertise, Ecosave can provide critical support for these hospitals to reach their emission reduction targets”
Mr. Archibald also adds that “EPCs enable additional funding to replace equipment, reducing the maintenance burden on hospitals within the district. As a result, maintenance obligations will be reduced which leads to additional savings for these facilities. ” says Mr. Archibald.
NBMLHD’s Energy and Sustainability Business Partner, Scott Hanson is responsible for driving sustainability outcomes for the local health district.
These projects will help NBMLHD achieve our commitment to reducing our environmental impact through energy management and resource effectiveness as outlined in the NBMLHD Sustainability Plan 2019-23
says Mr. Hanson.
“In addition to upgrading ageing equipment and significantly reducing costs, the project also demonstrates a responsibility for the future of our community by reducing carbon emissions,” says Mr. Hanson.
The EPC was greenlighted by the NSW Ministry of Health to directly support the NSW Government Resource Efficiency Policy (GREP) objectives which aims to meet the challenges of rising costs for energy and demonstrate leadership in incorporating resource efficiency.
The project will be financed via the NSW Government Finance Facility, a treasury loan structure that allows the energy savings to be used to pay for the EPC’s capital cost. This means that NBMLHD won’t have to pay a cent from their own operating or capital budget as the project savings will be used to pay back the treasury loan – therefore there is no net cost to NBMLHD. This is only possible due to the guaranteed savings component of the EPC delivery model offered by Ecosave.
“As an EPC, Ecosave assumes all the project’s technical risks to guarantee NBMLHD’s energy savings. In the event the EPC does not deliver the predicted energy savings, Ecosave is obliged to repay any savings shortfall,” says Mr. Archibald.
“This is a landmark project which will set the benchmark for energy savings in the health sector, providing a framework for emissions reduction that can be rolled out across NSW’s health facilities,” he added.
Related: Case Study – NBMLHD Ecosave EPC Phase 1
For media enquiries, please call 1300 77 55 64.
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