NHS energy managers are being encouraged to integrate planning and project development at an early stage to maximise the benefits of more than £816 million available through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).
According to planning and development consultancy Lichfields, early planning is essential if NHS trusts are to successfully deliver complex low-carbon energy projects while maintaining critical healthcare services across operational hospital estates.
Phase 4 of the PSDS, covering the 2025/26 to 2027/28 financial years, has allocated more than £816 million nationally, with around half of the funding awarded to NHS organisations. The investment supports projects including heat pumps, solar PV installations, lower-carbon heating systems and associated energy infrastructure as the NHS works towards its target of becoming the world’s first net zero health service for the emissions it directly controls by 2040.
For energy managers overseeing ageing and energy-intensive estates, the funding represents a significant opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and operating costs. However, Lichfields warns that many schemes will require careful planning where works involve installing new energy infrastructure on busy hospital sites.
Jonathan Standen, Planning Director at Lichfields, said trusts should develop planning strategies alongside technical designs and funding applications rather than treating planning as a later-stage requirement.
“Funding through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is giving NHS trusts the chance to make real progress on lower-carbon estates,” he said. “The next step is ensuring projects can be delivered efficiently across sites that are operational every day.”
One example is Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, which has secured around £20 million through Phase 4 to decarbonise heating systems across Wansbeck, Cramlington and Hexham hospitals. The programme will replace conventional heating with a combination of ground-source, air-source and water-source heat pumps.
At Wansbeck General Hospital, proposals include an innovative ground-source heat pump system that would utilise warm water from historic coal mine workings beneath the site, demonstrating how existing local resources can support future low-carbon energy systems.
Lichfields also highlights the success of a previous £22 million decarbonisation programme at North Tyneside Hospital, where large-scale heat pumps, boiler upgrades and a 975kW solar PV installation are estimated to reduce carbon emissions by 75%, saving approximately 3,470 tonnes of CO₂ and around £500,000 in annual energy costs.
As NHS organisations continue to invest in renewable energy, electrified heating and estate decarbonisation, the consultancy says close collaboration between energy managers, estates teams, planners, contractors and local authorities will be essential to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget and with minimal disruption to patient services.
