NHS estate energy consumption, including electricity, contributes 10% of the NHS’s emissions, the largest single source of direct emissions. Energy spending represents 7% of the NHS’s total running costs, totaling £1.12bn in 22/23 of which electricity totaled £637m, increasing by 21% in 23/24 to £769m.

In partnership with health innovation and commercial industry partners, we are developing robust solutions to access renewable energy for NHS organisations with a NHS pilot site. We believe this work will significantly reduce scope 2 emissions and deliver cost certainty and material, recurrent financial efficiencies. Our work is focused on bringing the benefit of financial efficiency and certainty along with significantly reducing scope 2 emissions through the procurement of genuinely renewable energy, via Power Purchase Agreements (PPA).

We have worked closely with NHS Trusts, government departments and industry partners, identifying the barriers that inhibit access to renewable energy, specifically PPAs.

We continue to work with a NHS pilot site, along with innovation and industry partners to develop the case for change, perform the due diligence and support pre-procurement market engagement to procure the first sleeved corporate PPA in the NHS. This work is informing a ‘PPA toolkit’ that we will publish and support others to utilise to procure their own PPA 

Recognising that PPAs are one of a number of solutions required to decarbonise NHS energy, we are also exploring other solutions with industry and commercial partners to develop a portfolio of options for NHS organisations to access.