The Canberra Hospital expansion is being designed to run on 100 per cent renewable electricity, promising to make it the first all-electric hospital in Australia.
Welcoming the plan, the Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Shane Rattenbury said the Territory was expanding the Canberra Hospital to include a new 40,000 sqm emergency, surgical and critical healthcare facility at the existing hospital campus in Woden.
“Marking the largest healthcare infrastructure commitment ever undertaken by the ACT Government, the hospital will soon be powered by efficient all-electric heat pumps,” Mr Rattenbury said.
“As the ACT has now reached our 100 per cent renewable electricity target, this investment will be powered entirely by clean, green renewables,” he said
“Once operational, this will avoid 1,886 tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into our atmosphere every year, equivalent to taking 760 cars off Canberra roads each year.”
Mr Rattenbury said the move to all electric was a significant step towards an emissions-free health sector.
“This follows a commitment from the ACT Government in its recently released ACT Climate Change Strategy 2019-2025, that included actions to ensure newly built Government buildings are all-electric and emissions-free, as well as specifically to reduce emissions from ACT Health facilities,” he said.
He said construction of the new facility would begin next year, and was expected to be completed in 2024.
