Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust
Steam plays a vital role in running the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital.
Steam is used 24 hours a day 365 days a year to: heat the hospital, sterilise instruments, prepare meals, and power the laundry. It is so important that without a steady supply of steam, at the right pressure, the hospital, a major acute facility serving South West England, would simply shut down.
The Trust has been an exemplar for financial management and was one of the first Trusts to be awarded “Foundation Trust” status. However, some of the infrastructure was getting old at this flagship hospital and the Trust wanted to replace worn-out heavy fuel-oil steam boilers with cleaner and more efficient technology. The Trust elected to enter into an innovative 15 year Energy Services Performance Contract under the Government's PPP/PFI programme.
Cynergin Consultants initiated the project design and brought in ABB Limited as the main contractor. By working in tandem both companies were able to share skills to optimise the technical solution and model the financial results.
Technical Solution
1. Supply Side
Zantec 1033 "Hot" Caterpillar gas-fired CHP with dual-fuel steam boilers
2. Additional Project Components (major items only)
| Item | Rationale | Contractor or Sub-contractor |
| a. Remove incinerators and create new boiler house | Optimising use of space for clinical services | ABB |
| b. New High Voltage panel | Sorting out site problems and solving HSE problems | ABB |
| c. New steam main | Higher capacity for laundry and CSSD | Eutech |
| d. Reciprocating chillers | Higher capacity for theatres & pathology | Eutech |
Energy and operational savings, amounting to more than £5 million, are guaranteed for the full term of the contract, which includes comprehensive maintenance and all parts and labour as necessary for 15 years.
A Trust spokesperson said, "This was a complex project, which succeeded in solving a number of major problems for the Trust. Security of supply was important, along with emergency standby capacity. We have freed up valuable space, introduced the latest technology and will be dramatically reducing our carbon footprint. All this without investing our own capital, and with the results 100% guaranteed for 15 years."
Cynergin develops and designs performance contracts underwritten by a full guarantee. Project savings are defined in the contract. They are then audited throughout the project and proven to the Trust.
One of the features which makes ESPC solutions unique is that by combining technical elements of fast-payback (e.g. lighting or CHP) with those that have little or no return, but have strategic benefit to the user, the whole project can be made self-financing over the economic life of the installed equipment, without the need for capital investment.
This method has been used in almost all of Cynergin's projects, and in this case involved removing obsolete waste disposal equipment, a vast unsightly chimney, and enabling a new medical-records department. These were expensive works funded out of the energy savings, reserving scare capital for important clinical needs.