Caithness General Hospital to connect to Wick District Heating Scheme
9th November 2015
NHS Highland has agreed that the Caithness General Hospital will be heated by energy delivered by the wood fuelled district heating scheme in Wick. Supply of low cost renewable energy will begin immediately.
Eric Green, NHS Highland's Head of Estates, said: Connection of Caithness General Hospital to the district heating produces the best combination of security of supply, cost and environmental benefit.
Not only does the proposal from Ignis have the added advantage of being more efficient and will therefore save us money but it is also much more environmentally friendly and will reduce our carbon emissions.
Scottish Government Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: I welcome the news that Caithness General Hospital will be provided with a long-term sustainable heat supply. When I visited the biomass energy centre in Wick, I was delighted to hear that almost 200 houses were seeing a significant reduction in their fuel bills after switching to the heat network.
The Scottish Government's District Heating Loan Fund has helped support the continued growth of the scheme and shows how district heating can provide low carbon, affordable heat. The connection of the hospital will further increase the efficiency and resilience of the network, and we are working with the sector to build on the success of projects like Wick to realise our ambitions to increase the use of district heating in Scotland.
Craig Ibbetson of Ignis said: We are delighted that NHS Highland has approved our proposal to connect Caithness General Hospital to the district heating scheme. We are looking forward to working with them, and believe that this is a good development for the NHS and Ignis, and the wider community in Wick.
We are delighted that this important customer is going to connect to the heat network, as the hospital is one of the larger users of heat in the town. We expect that this development will help us make further investments, which in turn will enable more homes and businesses to connect to the heating network.
This development is good news for everyone involved with the district heating. Ignis sources most of its needs from within Caithness; this development will put more money into the local economy and sustain skilled jobs in the Highlands.
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