Calls to Shift Queensland Hospitals to Solar and Battery Storage
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6.
QUEENSLAND’S leading health and medical bodies are calling on the Queensland Government
to commit to installing rooftop solar and battery storage on all Queensland hospitals within the
next year.
AMA Queensland, Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union, Climate and Health Alliance and
Doctors for the Environment have joined the Queensland Conservation Council to call on the
government to make the commitment as a matter of urgency.
Queensland Conservation Council Director, Louise Matthiesson, said the Queensland
Government should invest in solar and battery storage for public hospitals, and help share the
expertise for uptake to private hospitals.
“This could be a stimulus program that delivers jobs now, and long term savings that help
Queensland hospitals best deploy their resources to continue to deliver world-leading care,” Ms
Matthiesson said.
“This is a sensible solution. It creates jobs, saves public funds, improves our public assets,
creates energy storage that helps strengthen our grid, and reduces emissions that drive climate
change.”
There are 122 public hospitals in Queensland, made up of 119 public acute hospitals, and three
psychiatric hospitals.
In Queensland, the healthcare system is responsible for seven per cent of carbon emissions.
Renewable energy and battery storage could help provide an uninterrupted off-grid energy
supply to hospitals during natural disasters. It would reduce hospitals’ reliance on diesel, petrol,
and gas generators, which can be vulnerable to interruptions of fuel supply in natural disasters.
Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (QNMU) Secretary Beth Mohle said the QNMU
supported green initiatives for the state’s hospitals and health services.
“Queensland nurses and midwives strongly support the reduction of waste and the introduction
of solar energy in Queensland’s hospitals and health services,’’ Ms Mohle said.
“Utilising currently unused spaces to install solar and help power our hospitals will benefit
Queenslanders, the environment and the economy.
“Hospitals should be designed to deliver better health, and climate change is predicted to be
one of the greatest health threats of the 21st century. Hospitals should be using clean energy to
deliver health.”
AMA Queensland supports the call for solar PV and batteries to be installed on all Queensland
public hospitals.
AMAQ has previously called for the establishment of an Office of Sustainability in Queensland
Health saying it supports the introduction of practicable, sustainable and consistent measures to
reduce emissions in the health care sector, including investment in solar technology.