Warrnambool Base Hospital is to install about 1000 solar panels on the roof of its Timor Street block to cut its power bill by five per cent.
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Another 300 solar panels will also be installed on buildings at South West Healthcare’s (SWH) Camperdown Hospital to cut its power bill by 25 per cent.
SWH environment sustainability officer Elvira Hewson said the 1000 solar panels at Warrnambool will cover the entire roof of the hospital’s Timor Street block.
Work on the installation is expected to start soon and be finished by Christmas.
Ms Hewson said SWH had received a $400,000 no-interest loan to undertake the initiatives.
The solar panels were part of SWH’s wider commitment to environmental sustainability that also involved replacing fluorescent lighting with LED lighting, Ms Hewson said.
SWH services development director Jamie Brown said the initiative was timely with SWHC’s energy bills on the rise.
Warrnambool hospital’s solar panels will produce 250 kilowatts (kW) while Camperdown’s will produce 90kW.
The initiatives are part of a regional program that will install solar panels, producing a total of 2460 kilowatts, on 20 sites of 12 health services across the Barwon South West area.
A contract to install solar panels across the region has been awarded to a partnership bid by Keppel Prince and QA Electrical.
A group of representatives of health services from across the region worked closely with Health Purchasing Victoria through a cluster tender process to obtain an outcome that suited all parties.
SWH chief executive Craig Fraser said it would “continue to investigate environmental and energy improvements to create a greener future.
“Not only does this project create better self-sufficiency, it also provides financial savings,” Mr Fraser said.