Wye Valley NHS Trust has announced a £4.7 million energy upgrade at the Hereford County Hospital site.

Centrica Business Solutions has been appointed to deliver the upgrade to the hospital and six of the older buildings on the site.

A six-mile-long ground source heat pump network is designed to pump water, naturally warmed by the Earth and convert it into heat for the buildings.

Nearly 300 rooftop solar panels will also be installed to provide enough energy to power the equivalent of 27 homes every year.

The main hospital building will also be fitted with around 3,170 low energy lights.

Alan Dawson, Director of Strategy and Planning at Wye Valley NHS Trust, said: “We are committed to reducing the impact our activities have on the environment by introducing these new technologies, which will reduce our carbon emissions at this site by 510 carbon tonnes per year and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels for a greener future”.