Case study detail
The recently installed wind turbine at Antrim Area Hospital
Wind Turbine Generates Hard Cash
Contributed by:
Mariam Saleemi
Is this case study truly sustainable?
Review it now!
Average Rating: 5
Read the reviews for this case study
Are you the author of this casestudy? Update it now.
At a time when the global consciousness is focused on the declining sources of fossil fuel, the world’s health depends on the choices we make now.
Additional images
Click to see a slideshow of these images
Overview
Antrim Area Hospital has shown a healthy ingenuity by installing its very own wind turbine. The hospital has taken one of Northern Ireland’s defining characteristics, the wind, and harnessed it to provide a renewable source of energy for its patients.
The wind turbine, which is just over two years old, is the biggest installed at a UK hospital. In that time it has become a major landmark feature and is currently generating hard cash for the care of its patients.
Already it has recouped the hospital’s capital investment, provides cash savings from energy use and helps reduce the hospital’s carbon emission by hundreds of tonnes.
Instead of selling its production into the Northern Ireland grid, the hospital support manager Alistair Donaldson said output from the turbine went directly to the hospital. “This has resulted in more savings than initially anticipated since electricity costs have increase. With returns from Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs), the hospital will now save over £110,000 a year.”
He continued: “Wind power is good for Antrim Area Hospital, good for our patients and good for the environment of Northern Ireland.”
Antrim Area Hospital believes the effects of its operations on the environment should be a significant and integral part of its commitment to the health and well being of the community. It will continue to do its utmost to contain the environmental impact of its activities to a practical minimum consistent with maintaining its responsibilities with providing high quality patient care.
Antrim Area Hospital has generated widespread interest as well as electricity. The hospital is giving guided tours to groups such as universities, colleges and local councils. It is a leading example of how institutions can seriously look at the relationship between the social, economic and environmental implications of their operations and find positive and successful solutions to build a more sustainable future.
Key features
energy
health
Key data
Project Team:
Cost:
Local Authority:
Rate this case study
