Source: Newscatallian Online News
The newly installed undercover parking at Mediclinic Newcastle holds a dual purpose and an environmentally conscious design.
With Eskom’s forecast for loadshedding being bleak, Mediclinic Newcastle took proactive steps to ensure the country’s challenges do not impact patients. As a result, the private hospital opted to go solar, a project that will benefit the community for many years to come.
“Eskom has warned that loadshedding, due to a shortfall of power generation, is likely for the next five years. An essential business such as Mediclinic Newcastle is highly dependent on energy resources to ensure patient safety.”
Japie Greyling, Mediclinic Newcastle General Manager
While the hospital has installed three diesel generators to ensure a consistent power supply, Greyling emphasises that this option is both costly and impractical in the long term. “Solar energy will ensure that very little of the generators’ capacity will be needed during the day. The technology installed by Go Green Tradings is amazing, even if it rains, it generates a vast amount of electricity.”
Diving into the technical aspect of the large project, Go Green Tradings’ Hentie van Staden explains that his company has installed a 540KW grid-tie solar system. “For 5 to 6 hours of the day, we can supply 99% of their electricity demand.”
Furthermore, the grid-tied solar system will save Mediclinic up to 45% on their electric bill. “The solar system will reduce the Hospital’s dependency on utility provider electricity, resulting in a reduced electricity bill and long-term savings.” Additionally, he asserts that installing the solar system will help Eskom’s high demand during the day, resulting in a more stable grid.
Discussing the advantages of the solution, Greyling affirms several benefits from a practical point of view for all the hospital’s stakeholders.
“Firstly, it is reassuring for patients to know that there is a backup for generator power during load shedding. Secondly, as a hospital, we are able to restructure our operations to ensure that energy sapping processes can be moved to the daytime to ensure excess electricity is fully utilised.”
As an added bonus, Greyling points out that the hospital now has plenty of covered parking for staff and visitors.
In addition to saving money on their municipal bill, Greyling points out that Mediclinic Newcastle is helping to achieve one of their key strategic goals: The Environment. Greyling explains that the Chairperson of the Mediclinic International Board’s Clinical Performance and Sustainability Committee, which has oversight of environmental sustainability issues facing the organisation, reports to the Main Board on climate-related matters.
Therefore, the ultimate responsibility for climate-related issues rests with the Chairperson of the Board. “During the reporting year, the Board approved Mediclinic’s commitments to achieve carbon-neutral status and zero waste to landfill by 2030, with plans to support the achievement of these targets. We are proud that our own local Board of directors at Mediclinic Newcastle has bought into this vision.”
With the globe driving for a cleaner environment and Mediclinic Newcastle leading the way locally, what are your thoughts?
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