NEWS
Low-Carbon Network development at St James’s University Hospital to be connected to Leeds PIPES district heat network
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he Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) is taking another step closer to its ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040, with support from law firm Bevan Brittan. A new heat supply agreement between the Trust and Leeds City Council will enable the supply of low carbon heat from the Leeds PIPES district heating network to the Trust’s internal low-carbon network providing low temperature hot water to 17 buildings at St James’s University Hospital. National law firm Bevan Brittan, which has an office in Leeds, advised the Trust on the heat supply agreement. Leeds PIPES district heating network provides affordable, reliable and sustainable heat using heat recovered from the city’s recycling and energy recovery facility (RERF). It provides a low carbon alternative to the traditional burning of fossil fuels for hot water heating. The Trust sends 100% of its general & offensive waste to RERF. In April 2022, the Beckett Wing at St James’s University Hospital became the first LTHT building to connect to Leeds PIPES. Nathan Bradberry, Partner from
Bevan Brittan said: “It is great to see further decarbonisation of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust estate by increasing the supply capacity from the Leeds PIPES district heat network. This low carbon heating will play a significant part in the Trust’s drive towards achieving net zero carbon emissions’. “The heat supply agreement for a bulk transfer connection into the Trust’s internal low-carbon network was complex given the requirement to balance Leeds City Council’s obligations around the availability of heat being provided to the Trust against the Trust’s own on-site alternative heat generating assets and the needs of other customers on the Leeds PIPES district heating network.” Chris Kelly, Associate Director of Estates at LTHT commented: “The Trust has taken significant steps towards reducing gas consumption at the St James’s University Hospital site, by identifying buildings to be connected to the newly developed internal low-carbon heat network. Which will be supplied by Combined Heat and Power (CHP) waste heat, heat pumps, and a bulk connection to the Leeds PIPES district heat network,
following a Heat Sale Agreement with a fellow anchor institution Leeds City Council, supported by expert commercial legal advice from Bevan Brittan.” A team of experts from Bevan Brittan have supported the Trust including energy and infrastructure experts Nathan Bradberry (Partner) and Thomas Graham (Associate) who advised on the heat supply agreement. LTHT has been awarded £22m from the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) fund to implement a heat decarbonisation strategy, switching to lower carbon heating, improving building fabric and energy efficiency measures across the Trust estate. The Leeds PIPES network is being constructed by Leeds City Council and Vital Energi. Almost two thousand council homes, public sector buildings (education/ healthcare/ council) and commercial businesses around Leeds City Centre will be connected to the low carbon district heat network, which reuses heat which is already being produced at the city’s RERF. https://www.bevanbrittan.com/
NEW ENERGY TRADING SOLUTIONS TO HELP BUSINESSES SAVE TIME AND MONEY
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eading business energy supplier, npower Business Solutions (nBS), has launched a new suite of flexible energy trading solutions that have been specifically designed to help businesses maximise efficiency and reduce energy invoices. Flex Portfolio Solutions is delivered by nBS’ market-leading Optimisation Desk, which is a specialist, dedicated expert team providing real-time guidance on movements in the wholesale energy market. Businesses can choose from
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three options to help them trade energy on the wholesale market, as well as three levels of support from nBS’ hedging experts, all of which are tailored to cater for different levels of expertise and risk appetite. This market intelligence helps businesses to better manage their energy position, understand their risks and take advantage of any opportunities in the market. During a time where the energy market has experienced major volatility, nBS believes that offering a range of solutions will help businesses build a successful hedging strategy, ultimately saving time and money, as Gemma Eagle-Bruce, Optimisation Desk Manager at npower Business Solutions, comments: “Different organisations have a variety of complex energy needs that require full
ENERGY MANAGER MAGAZINE • JUNE 2023
flexibility and bespoke support, and many simply do not have the time or expertise to effectively trade on the wholesale energy market to achieve the best outcome for their business. “That is why we developed Flex Portfolio Solutions. It provides three levels of hedging options for businesses, from fully outsourcing their energy trading strategy to one of our expert portfolio managers, to maintaining control themselves and using our experts on a consultative basis. “At nBS, we firmly believe that our role is to demystify energy for our customers. By offering a range of flexible solutions that can adapt to a business’ needs, we are helping them to stay in control of their hedging strategy, save time, and maximise their energy spend.” To find out more about nBS’s new Flex Portfolio Solutions, visit https:// npowerbusinesssolutions.com/ corporate/flexible-portfolio-solutions